With plans to double its sales over the next three to four years, Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), continues to be a key driver of the group’s growth. 

Led by Isha Ambani, Reliance Retail operates both online and offline and across diverse verticals, including grocery, electronics, fashion apparel, beauty, footwear, food, jewellery, and lifestyle.

In Q1 FY25, Reliance Retail’s revenue rose 6.6% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 66,260 Cr, even as the numbers reveal a slight sequential dip from INR 67,610 Cr in the previous quarter. 

The company’s digital commerce and new commerce businesses contributed 18% of the total Q1 FY25 revenues, reflecting its efforts to integrate online and offline channels. Despite a 7% sequential decline in profit, Reliance Retail posted a 4.6% increase in net profit year-on-year to INR 2,549 Cr in Q1 FY25.

While grocery and consumer electronics have been key drivers of growth, Reliance Retail seems to have its sharp focus on fashion and lifestyle, too. With an expanding portfolio of brands, including Yousta, Azorte, and Gap, the company is actively scaling its presence in this segment. 

Earlier this year, Reliance Retail signed a licencing agreement with UK-based fast fashion retailer ASOS to bring the brand to India, challenging the dominance Myntra and the ilk in the GenZ space and the emergence of D2C fast fashion brands. 

Notably, the strategy to increase its folio of brands has helped Ajio, the company’s B2C online fashion platform, add nearly 2 Mn new customers in Q1 FY25. In addition, Jio Luxe, its premium luxury segment, now hosts over 700 global brands, making it a leading destination for luxury fashion in India. Not just this, its catalogue for the overall online fashion business has grown more than 20% year-on-year.

However, not all is going as planned. The company is facing headwinds due to a fall in discretionary spending of users in the fashion and lifestyle segments.

Despite this, the president & CEO of Reliance Retail Fashion & Lifestyle, Akhilesh Prasad, told Inc42 that the company will remain focussed on expanding its store count and digital presence to cash in on growth opportunities in India’s evolving retail space.

So, what’s the CEO’s plan when it comes to making a significant leap in the fashion and lifestyle space? More so, what made him recite the theory of “survival of the fittest” in a tête-à-tête with Inc42?

Here are the edited excerpts…

Inc42: The fashion and lifestyle segment has seen noteworthy growth over the past few quarters on the back of the company’s omnichannel strategy and multiple partnerships. What have been the key growth drivers so far, and how do you plan to sustain this momentum?

Akhilesh Prasad: We are part of the Reliance group, therefore we aren’t resource-constrained in any way. However, we may be formula-constrained in the sense that it could take some time to decode what works in the market and what people are looking for. 

What we’ve understood is that consumers are very aware of fashion. They want to consume it if it’s offered at a price point they can afford. Now, we’ve reached some maturity in the range we offer. While we’ve already started adding footwear, we now plan to add categories like beauty and personal care, etc. to provide a complete range of youth offerings. 

Inc42: Ajio has expanded its customer base and catalogue. How do you ensure it continues to stand out in the competitive fashion industry?

Akhilesh Prasad: Competition is crucial for market growth. If there’s no competition, the market will stop growing. So, we welcome competition. Competition is a good metric and does not mean that the industry has saturated in the absence of innovation.

For example, a Fiat car used to be sold in India, and people might say it became competitive when more brands entered the market. Now, we have 25 different brands, but we sell 150 times the number of cars we used to sell back then. 

It’s about survival of the fittest. The market is never a limitation, but what matters is if you’re fit to survive in it. For those who are fit, competition is the best thing. It all boiled down to the mindset — are you a winner, a survivor, or a complainer?

Inc42: Mono-brand websites like Tumi and Pottery Barn are becoming popular. How does this align with Reliance’s overall strategy?

Akhilesh Prasad: Mono-brand websites will be big because they offer digital access to customers who can’t reach physical stores. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) is an individual way of offering products, and specialists will enter the market as D2C brands. It’s going to be a significant play.

Inc42: Reliance has also acquired stakes in brands like Ed-a-Mamma. How do these acquisitions align with your long-term strategy?

Akhilesh Prasad: We play in all segments of the market — mass, economy, mid-premium, and bridge-to-luxury. We acquire brands that add to our offerings in any of these segments. Ed-a-Mamma, for instance, is in the premium and bridge-to-luxury segment and thus serves our cause.

Inc42:  How is Reliance leveraging AI and data analytics to enhance the customer experience in the fashion and lifestyle segment?

Akhilesh Prasad: We are moving towards full automation in fashion. We will use AI for predictive models in designing, speeding up production, and improving logistics. However, human intelligence will still play a crucial role at every stage. 

Inc42: What are your plans for the fashion and lifestyle segment, particularly digital sales platforms, in the next year?

Akhilesh Prasad: Digitally, we cover all PIN codes in the country, so our reach extends to even the remotest of the villages. As for physical stores, no one in India offers a network as extensive as ours. We’ve covered towns, districts, state capitals, A-class cities, mini metro citiess, and metros. We aim to be present in every segment.

For example, we opened our first store in a small town, Guntur, when nobody else had. In 10 years, we now have six stores there. That’s how markets grow.

Inc42: How are new formats like Azorte and Yousta performing, and what are their prospects for future growth?

Akhilesh Prasad: All the formats we’re in will see growth. We have a population of 1.4 Bn people, and the demand within India alone makes us one of the largest markets in the world. 

We’ve segmented the market and are catering to it through both online and offline channels. Our goal is to reach every customer, whether it’s a clerk’s son in a small town or someone in South Bombay. Every customer is important to us.

Inc42: Has the lifestyle and fashion segment seen a turnaround ahead of the festive season, especially the slowdown earlier this year?

Akhilesh Prasad: The festive season has been great. We’ve seen huge growth in Kolkata during Durga Puja. So, how can there be a decline in demand when the festive season is thriving?

It’s not that demand has decreased; it’s more about whether you’re catering to the customer’s changing needs. The market evolves. For example, if you only make luxury jeans, but the market shifts to cargo pants, you’ll think the market is shrinking. But it’s not, it’s just moved on to something else.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Only The Fittest Will Survive In The Indian Fashion Industry: Reliance Retail’s Akhilesh Prasad appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Meta-owned social media platform Instagram today (October 8) faced an outage for several users in India. According to Downdetector, a crowd-sourced platform for tracking outages, many users started reporting issues accessing the app at around 11:15 AM.

The data further said that over 64% of users experienced problems logging into the app, while 24% faced server connection issues.

Users turned to X (formerly known as Twitter) to report the issues they were experiencing with Instagram. Many shared that they were met with an error message stating, “Something went wrong.”

The cause of the current outage remains unclear, and Instagram has yet to release an official statement regarding the issue.

This isn’t the first time Meta has faced an outage. In June, Instagram also experienced an outage lasting several minutes, leaving thousands of users worldwide unable to access the platform. In March earlier this year, both Instagram and WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, were down for several hours, causing disruptions for local businesses.

Before that, in April last year, some Indian WhatsApp users experienced problems downloading videos. In October 2022, WhatsApp endured a two-hour outage, prompting the company to provide an explanation to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

A large number of local businesses are reliant on services offered by Instagram. Earlier this year, a month after introducing its “Meta Verified” service for WhatsApp Business users in India, social media giant Meta expanded the offering to Facebook and Instagram.

Meta Verified is a subscription service designed to help brands build credibility with new audiences by providing a “blue tick,” enhanced account support, protection against impersonation, and additional features aimed at improving discovery and connection.

India is home to the largest user base to Meta’s family of apps. While Facebook accounts for 378 Mn users in the country, WhatsApp and Instagram have 478 Mn and 362 Mn users respectively, as per Statista.

The post Instagram Down For Several Users Across India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

This festive season will be all about the need for speed, as ecommerce majors have now entered the paradigm of swift deliveries (same day or next day), pivoting from their earlier timeline of 4-5 days.

Making the game of deliveries insanely difficult to play will be quick-commerce players that are expected to capture the majority of the customer base seeking instant gratification. All in all, ecommerce platforms will be seen upping the ante in staying ahead of the delivery curve and ensuring that no shopper is left craving amid the festive rush.

However, this shift in ecommerce behaviour has been in the making for some time, and the trigger has been the maturity of the Indian quick delivery ecosystem, which currently drives 40% of online grocery sales.

Over the past year, ecommerce marketplaces have made significant strides in enhancing delivery speed, introducing same-day and next-day services to cater to customer demands. A vibrant example is Flipkart, which, at the start of the year, announced that it would offer same-day delivery across multiple product categories at no additional cost.

With the market at stake, Amazon followed suit, while beauty platform Nykaa and fashion site Myntra began testing same-day delivery options. Witnessing this, many D2C brands are also adapting to remain competitive.

While they may not match online marketplaces in order volume, they’re eager to offer quicker delivery options to stay competitive. A case in point is GenZ-focussed fashion startup NEWME, which recently launched 90-minute delivery for its products in select Delhi NCR areas.

Speaking with Inc42, logistics experts said that the demand for fast delivery has surged dramatically compared to last year’s festive sales. Same-day and next-day deliveries have grown 4-5X during peak periods of festive sales, now accounting for 12-15% of total ecommerce deliveries, which is a big leap from almost zero just 18 months ago.

This surge comes as ecommerce firms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho are expected to register a 20% year-on-year rise in gross merchandise value, generating sales in the range of INR 1 Lakh Cr to 1.2 Lakh Cr this festive season, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants. Quick commerce is anticipated to contribute around 8% to this overall growth.

Festive Rush Paves The Way For 5X Surge In Same-Day Delivery

Speaking with Inc42, COO of Ecom Express, Vishwachetan Nadamani, said that during the festive season, the speed of deliveries naturally improves due to increased demand, with line-haul trucks operating more frequently. However, the surge in fast delivery requests is more pronounced this year.

Therefore, the executive added that the company has rolled out same-day delivery and next-day deliveries in India’s top 10 metro cities, with the infrastructure fully established to support these services.

Meanwhile, Shadowfax’s cofounder and chief business officer, Praharsh Chandra, said that the company is well prepared to tackle the same or next-day delivery rush.

“We started focussing on fast delivery with both brands and marketplaces about a year and a half ago. Back then, the industry had 0% same-day delivery, but now 10-14% of all intra-city orders are delivered the same day,” Chandra said.

Chandra noted that this trend is gaining momentum as we are nearing the peak sales season. “In fact, our same-day delivery channel saw five times growth in just one day, on the second day of the sales. We experienced some very high peaks,” he said.

Chandra sees a clear shift in consumer behaviour here, with more and more customers now wanting instant gratification. “Even for nearby zones, like orders from Bangalore to Mysore, which used to take two days, people now expect next-day deliveries,” he said.

The sentiment is being echoed across the industry. For instance, Zippee’s founder & CEO, Madhav Kasturia, sees registering 6-8X growth as all its partner brands continue to scale during the festive season.

Fast Delivery Fever Grips All Categories

Fast delivery demand has risen across categories this festive season. Electronics, beauty and personal care, fashion, and home goods have seen strong interest, with mobile phones being the most popular choice. Interestingly, on the first day of sales, Shadowfax delivered 15,000 iPhones.

However, the demand landscape is not solely dominated by electronics. Categories such as beauty and personal care, fashion, and home goods are also seeing high demand, with brands like Decathlon experiencing increased sales of sports goods, showing that consumers are diversifying their purchases.

“There’s demand in various categories. However, it’s crucial to focus on where the concentration of that demand is and whether brands have optimised their supply chains with warehouses in these top metros,” the Ecom Express COO said.

So far, demand for fast delivery is highest in metro cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi. However, this trend is not limited to urban areas. Brands are now stocking inventory in Tier II and Tier III cities like Patna, Jaipur, and Guwahati to offer faster delivery options in these regions as well.

Navigating The Complexities Of Fast Delivery

While fast delivery services are in high demand, they come with operational challenges. One of the biggest hurdles is optimising inventory placement. Quick deliveries not only require faster transportation but also strategic positioning of inventory closer to customers.

This requires maintaining fewer pin codes per dark store, which complicates logistics, Zippee’s Kasturia said, adding that the logistics startup was addressing it by establishing localised inventory hubs, enabling quicker access and more streamlined delivery routes.

Additionally, the rising demand for same-day deliveries translates to an increased need for delivery riders, resulting in escalating costs month after month. During peak seasons, the volume can increase by 4-5X, necessitating supplementary capacity through hyperlocal delivery fleets.

“Historically, logistics have a rigid model where shipments from multiple clients are picked up, sent to a central sortation centre, and then dispatched to last-mile hubs. That entire process used to take around 16 hours. But for same-day delivery, we can’t afford that kind of delay. So, we have restructured the supply chain to bypass certain nodes when possible. This is both a technology and operational shift,” Shadowfax’s Chandra said.

While same and next-day deliveries typically carry a premium — around 25% higher than express delivery — logistics startups are actively working to optimise operational costs. By increasing order volumes and refining their processes, many have reduced the cost difference to approximately 5-10% compared to regular delivery.

Now, as the industry stands at the precipice of super-fast deliveries, building an efficient supply chain will be the most critical element for the long-term sustainability of India’s quick delivery realm.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Festive Rush Sparks Speed War: Quick Commerce & Ecommerce Battle For Fastest Deliveries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The funding gold rush of 2021-2022 gave a major boost to several sectors but the Indian edtech space turned out to be the prime beneficiary when the pandemic brought the world to its knees. 

The forced closure of schools and colleges paved the way for digital learning, and techies started to form a beeline to cater to the growing demand for online education. Not to mention, the growing demand for skill development among the workforce working in tech and tech-adjacent industries also fuelled the edtech growth story in India.

This propelled the Indian edtech space to become the third most-funded sector in 2021, securing $4.7 Bn in investments — only trailing behind ecommerce ($10.7 Bn) and fintech ($8 Bn). In fact, edtech raised $2.4 Bn in 2022 alone. Such was the scale that these two years accounted for 64% of the total $11 Bn the sector raised between 2014 and 2024.

But then, the reality struck when the world opened to business as usual, presenting challenges that the industry sleuths hadn’t anticipated. As physical classrooms reopened, the demand for online learning plateaued, exposing the cracks in edtech’s business models and their long-term sustainability. The results were immediate and stark. The edtech startup funding dropped 88% year-on-year to $283 Mn in 2023.

With this massive drop in funding many skeletons started to tumble out of the closets. For one, a lot of startups started to struggle with their incomplete playbooks amid expiring runways due to investors tightening their purse strings. This led to layoffs, shutdowns and whatnot.

The troubles compounded for the sector when BYJU’S, the country’s biggest edtech, started to stagger from being the poster child of India’s edtech boom to getting embroiled in back-to-back controversies. And we know how the fates of the once-edtech decacorn have unravelled since then, especially in 2024.

Well, to be true, the Indian edtech space is not doing too well, even as the first nine months of the ongoing year have done a little better on the funding front compared to the year-ago period.

As per Inc42’s quarterly funding report (Q3, 2024), startups in the space raised $278 Mn in the first nine months of 2024, up a mere 3% from the $269 Mn raised in the corresponding period in 2023. 

However, on a year-on-year basis, edtech funding in the third quarter of 2024 was up 357% to $224 Mn from a mere $49 Mn in Q3 2023. 

However, what needs to be acknowledged is that PhysicsWallah alone netted $210 Mn of the total edtech funding raised in the three quarters of 2024.

Sans PhysicsWallah, the Indian edtech funding in the first nine months of the year seems to be dangling at around $68 Mn, enduring a decline of nearly 75% YoY. Similarly, the edtech funding during Q3 of 2024 stood at just $14 Mn, without counting PhysicsWallah.

Notably, as per Inc42’s latest Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q3 2024, PhysicsWallah was the second biggest mega deal after Zepto’s $340 Mn in this year’s September quarter. 

Despite this, the Indian edtech sector couldn’t make it to the list of the top 10 most funded startup sectors during the recently-concluded quarter.   

Is The Indian Edtech Sector Headed For Revival?

Despite the dilapidated state of affairs, experts hope that the sector may see a funding revival, especially when we have startups like PhysicsWallah (PW) to support the Indian edtech growth story. Notably, the edtech unicorn raised $210 Mn (approximately INR 1,756.7 Cr) in its Series B funding led by Hornbill Capital at a post-money valuation of $2.8 Bn.

“The edtech industry has learned valuable lessons from its rapid rise and fall after the pandemic. While the initial boom showed potential, many companies struggled to scale effectively, highlighting the need for a hybrid approach. PhysicsWallah is a standout example, managing to break through the clutter. The future of education is not just in online models, but in combining digital and offline experiences,” Anup Jain, founding partner of India Early Stage Fund said.

He also noted that the K-12 segment has become crowded, with numerous edtech players competing for the same space. This is because K-12 is the highest-funded subsector in edtech. As per Inc42’s annual “The State Of Indian Startup Ecosystem Report“, the K-12 segment received $5.8 Bn between 2014 and 2024, accounting for 54.5% of total edtech funding. 

Meanwhile, Jain sees new opportunities for the segment with the roll out of the National Education Policy (NEP).   

Further, there is a growing shift towards design thinking and skill-based learning, which offers startups a chance to thrive by focussing on employability and career development. Per industry experts, the future of education will focus on preparing students for real-world challenges, particularly in the age of AI and automation.

“Funding revival will likely start from seed and pre-seed rounds. Beyond one or two exceptions, there hasn’t been much significant interest in late-stage investments. For edtech companies, the challenge is that business models and unit economics can shift overnight. That’s why we anticipate more seed and Series A activity in the near future, as products driven by AI and machine learning show strong traction,” Rohit Krishna, partner at WEH Ventures, said.

The Future Of Edtech In India

Anticipating revival in seed and pre-seed edtech rounds, WEH Ventures’ Krishna sees new technologies, like generative AI, as key drivers for the next big edtech boom. 

He also envisions such technologies driving significant improvements in product quality, all while reducing costs. Notably, the industry is witnessing a wave of new companies capitalising on emerging technologies, particularly in the early stages. 

Unlike the edtech gold rush of 2021-2022, startups founded more recently have started to look more lucrative to investors. This is because these startups, helped by emerging technologies, are endeavouring to create more interactive and engaging content.

Additionally, generative AI is being employed to automate administrative tasks within edtech platforms, streamlining operations so educators can focus more on teaching.

Furthermore, as conversational AI and chatbots gain traction in education, many companies will be seen using them to provide personalised and immersive learning experiences. Additionally, AI-assisted grading has improved the speed of assessments, allowing users to receive graded assignments promptly and benefit from instant feedback.

Hence, investors predict a revival in early-stage funding for edtech over the next year, although they will remain cautious before committing to large investments.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Can Edtech In India Find Its Footing Again? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries’ video streaming platform JioCinema has roped in YouTube executive Ishan Chatterjee as its new chief business officer as part of the company’s efforts to push its digital offerings in the rapidly growing streaming space.

“Chatterjee’s appointment reflects JioCinema’s commitment to accelerate its transformation into a tech-enabled company, delivering cutting-edge, seamless digital experiences to its rapidly expanding user base,” the company said in a statement.

As the newly appointed chief business officer at JioCinema, Chatterjee will oversee the platform’s overall monetisation, focusing on driving revenue growth across sports and entertainment, with a particular emphasis on sports and SMB revenue streams.

Prior to joining JioCinema, Chatterjee served as managing director of YouTube India, where he was instrumental in shaping the platform’s strategy and growth. With over two decades of experience, including 13 years at Google and roles at McKinsey and Hindustan Unilever, he brings a wealth of expertise.

Chatterjee is an alumnus of The Wharton School and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. In his new role, he will collaborate closely with JioCinema’s leadership team, working alongside Kiran Mani, CEO for digital ventures at Viacom18.

The appointment comes at a time when reports indicate that Reliance Industries is mulling to have only one OTT platform, JioCinema, after it wraps up merger with Star and Viacom18.

The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate plans to merge Disney+ Hotstar with JioCinema after getting regulatory nod for the proposed merger, to cut costs and expand JioCinema’s content offerings.

In its annual report 2023-24, Reliance Industries said that JioCinema had 225 Mn average monthly active users while Disney+ Hotstar had 333 Mn. Meanwhile, data from Google Play Store showed that Disney+ Hotstar had more than 500 Mn downloads, significantly higher than JioCinema’s 100 Mn.

In February this year, Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company inked a deal to set up a joint venture (JV) that would combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India Private Limited.

At the time, it was reported that the merged entity will host over 100 TV channels and streaming platforms – Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. It will also exclusively wield the rights to distribute Disney’s content in India as well Viacom18-owned sports content.

Additionally, RIL said it would invest INR 11,500 Cr in the JV to fuel its growth.

The post JioCinema Ropes In YouTube India Head Ishan Chatterjee As CBO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C skincare brand Minimalist’s net profit more than doubled in the financial year ended March 31, 2024. The startup’s profit zoomed 110% to INR 10.9 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 5.2 Cr in FY23 on the back of a strong growth in its top line.

Founded in 2020 by Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, the skincare brand retails its products through its own website and online marketplaces such as Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, and Myntra. It earns revenue from the sale of its skincare, haircare and body care products.

As per the filing of Uprising Science Pvt Ltd, which operates Minimalist, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the startup’s revenue from operations surged 89% to INR 347.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 183.8 Cr in FY23.

Including other income, the D2C brand’s total income rose 86% to INR 349.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 188.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Zooming Into Expenses

The rise in Minimalist’s expenditure was largely in line with the growth in its sales. Total expenses jumped 84% to INR 331.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 180.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Cost Of Materials Consumed: The startup spent INR 101.5 Cr on purchase of stock-in trade, an increase of 43% from INR 71.2 Cr in FY23.

Employee Benefit Expenses: Employee costs zoomed 56% to INR 28.5 Cr during the year from INR 18.3 Cr in FY23.

Advertising Promotional Expenses: The D2C brand’s biggest expense was advertising costs. It spent INR 117.1 Cr under the head in FY24, up 79% from INR 65.3 Cr in FY23.

Minimalist has raised a total funding of over $17 Mn till date and counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Unilever Ventures, among others, as its backers. It competes with startups like WOW Skin Science, Plum, mCaffeine, among others.

The post D2C Brand Minimalist’s FY24 Profit Doubles To INR 10.9 Cr, Revenue Up 1.9X YoY appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The last couple of years have been rough for Indian startups — layoffs, a long funding winter, and even some unfortunate shutdowns. However, amid all these challenges, one positive shift has emerged — founders have started focussing on building sustainable, resilient businesses that prioritise profitability over chasing rapid, unsustainable growth. The world’s third-largest startup space has undergone a massive shift in mindset, which is all about long-term success, rather than celebrating quick wins.

However, amidst these challenges, there is a silver lining. While late-stage and growth funding have taken a hit, seed funding has seen an upward trend. This indicates that innovation is thriving at the grassroots level, with entrepreneurs continuing to develop breakthrough solutions.

This innovation spans various sectors. In this 51st edition of Inc42’s flagship series — ‘30 Startups To Watch’, powered by Google Cloud, we’re showcasing some of the most exciting young companies from across sectors like deeptech, SaaS, semiconductors, D2C, spacetech, AI, fintech, and healthtech. These startups are pushing boundaries and finding new ways to solve real-world problems.

As India’s startup ecosystem gears up to hit a cumulative $170 Bn in funding by 2025, the nation’s top three startup hubs — Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai — currently account for 88% of the total funding and 80% of deals. Reflecting this, 60% of the startups featured in this edition hail from Bengaluru, followed by Delhi NCR.

Moreover, of the startups featured in this 51st edition, only six have raised more than $2 Mn, while the majority are either bootstrapped or have raised under $1 Mn. This broader trend highlights the ability of Indian startups to thrive on limited resources.

So, in a bid to celebrate the perseverance and ingenuity of Indian founders who continue to push the boundaries of innovation, we present to you the 30 startups that caught our eyes in August.

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.

Algorithmic Biologics

Tech For A Bountiful, Healthy World

Founded in 2021 by Manoj Gopalkrishnan, Algorithmic Biologics aims to transform the field of molecular diagnostics with its software solutions that integrate seamlessly into standard molecular testing workflows. The startup’s platform enables the execution of advanced computing applications, enhancing the precision and efficiency of molecular testing.

Their technology is agnostic to the type of molecular test, meaning it can integrate with any existing infrastructure without disrupting workflows. This flexibility positions Algorithmic Biologics as a pioneer in improving diagnostic capabilities across a wide range of medical and molecular applications.

The company’s vision is to create a healthier world by bringing scalability and efficiency to molecular discovery and diagnostics.

Algorithmic Biologics’ first product, Tapestry, is a regulatory-approved, award-winning solution designed to provide affordable, large-scale Covid-19 testing.

AltiusHub

Redefining The Future Of Supply Chain Tech

Having spent years in the life sciences and supply chain management ecosystems, Siddharth Reddy and Abiram Vijaykumar realised a pressing need for robust solutions to ensure the integrity of supply chains, especially in critical sectors like life sciences and pharmaceuticals.

In a bid to solve this problem, the duo developed a sophisticated platform called AltisHub. At the core of AltiusHub’s offerings is a state-of-the-art supply chain visibility system that provides comprehensive end-to-end visibility for all stakeholders involved in the supply chain, including manufacturers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), distributors, warehouse operators, and brand owners.

The platform utilises advanced tracking and monitoring technologies, enabling stakeholders to gain real-time insights into product movement, inventory levels, and potential disruptions. AltiusHub primarily operates in India and the United States and is focussed on the expansive pharmaceutical ecosystem.
In the short term, the company aims to strengthen its presence among contract manufacturers, brand owners, 3PLs, and distributors in India, facilitating operational efficiencies and risk mitigation through its visibility system.

Looking ahead, AltiusHub intends to diversify its services to cater to other sectors, such as fertilisers, defence, tobacco, and alcohol.

Atomgrid

An R&D Platform For Specialty Chemicals

Atomgrid is an R&D-driven platform focussed on contract development, manufacturing, and sourcing of speciality chemicals. Founded by IIT-BHU alumni Lakshit Bansal, Siddharth Gupta, and Pratik Chowdhury, Atomgrid addresses key challenges faced by Indian speciality chemical manufacturers, such as limited R&D access, raw material sourcing, and global market connections.

Imperative to mention that China currently accounts for approximately 15-17% of the world’s exportable speciality chemicals, whereas India accounts for merely 1-2%, indicating that the country has a large scope for improvement and widespread opportunity.

However, with the global market shifting away from China, Atomgrid positions Indian manufacturers to become global players by enhancing production capacity and export potential.

Atomgrid’s larger mission is to establish a global footprint, starting from India, in the high-value speciality chemicals sector, ultimately driving the country’s role in the global supply chain.

BetterInvest

Easy Funding Solutions For Content Creators

BetterInvest addresses a critical challenge in India’s rapidly growing media and entertainment industry — the difficulty content producers face in securing timely and reliable financing.

Traditional funding methods can be slow and burdensome, delaying the production of movies, web series, and other content. BetterInvest solves this by offering fast, affordable, and hassle-free funding, bridging the gap between investors and the substantial financing needs of the entertainment sector.

Founded in 2022 by Pradeep Somu, Sethu Rajendran and Sriram Anax, BetterInvest specialises in invoice discounting by advancing funds against future receivables from OTT platforms, satellite channels, and audio rights. This innovative model helps content producers access capital swiftly.

The platform is powered by tailored data models specific to the entertainment sector, ensuring smarter investment decisions. With over 115 deals financed and backed by prominent angel investors, BetterInvest is driving growth in the media industry. By connecting investors with media projects, BetterInvest unlocks the potential of India’s entertainment industry.

BigEndian Semiconductors

Semiconductor Solutions For Surveillance

Founded earlier this year by Sunil Kumar, Renuka Prasad, Harpreet Wadhawan, Dinesh Annayya, Kanagaraju Ponnusamy, and Jansen Cheng, BigEndian is developing semiconductor solutions for the surveillance sector. The company is currently building its first System on Chip (SoC) for surveillance cameras, intended for both enterprise and consumer applications.

BigEndian specialises in designing integrated circuits, microprocessors, and custom semiconductors for an array of industries, including consumer electronics and automotive.

BigEndian Semiconductors recently raised $3 Mn in a round led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India. The startup plans to use the funds to develop new semiconductor intellectual property (IP), marking a significant milestone in its growth.

ClearTrust

New-Age Fraud Mitigation Platform For AdOps & Media Buying Teams

ClearTrust is a SaaS platform that offers robust protection against Invalid Traffic (IVT) for publishers and media buyers, ensuring compliance with media rating guidelines. Equipped with over 100 built-in filters, pre-configured filter profiles, transparent reporting, and dedicated support, ClearTrust has become a leading solution for SMEs and SMBs seeking reliable IVT protection.

The platform scans more than 100 Bn events monthly, positioning itself as a fast-growing leader in the space. Backed by Modulor Capital and Pentathlon Ventures, ClearTrust leverages a self-learning system, advanced intelligence, and an open filter framework that enables it to quickly adapt to emerging IVT threats.

Designed for businesses involved in revenue monetisation, media buying, or the advertising supply chain, ClearTrust offers a free trial, making it accessible and affordable without compromising on quality. Its rapid adaptability and cost-effective solution make it the go-to option for effective traffic scanning and protection at the right price.

Convrse.ai

AI-Driven 3D Mesh Optimisation

Founded by Anshul Padyal, Vikrant Singh, and Vishesh Khatri in 2021, Convrse.ai is a 3D mesh optimiser designed to transform how over 100 Mn 3D creators bring their content online and into real-time 3D environments.

Tackling long-standing issues such as mesh optimisation, format inconsistencies, interactivity, and deployment, Convrse.ai offers a user-friendly, AI-driven solution.

The platform streamlines the creation process for industries, including gaming, architecture, manufacturing, healthcare, and simulations, making 3D workflows more affordable, accessible, and configurable.

One of the standout features of Convrse.ai is its intelligent and automated polygon reduction, which improves with each use while preserving the intricate details of the original design.

It supports lightning-fast performance, enabling seamless interaction with optimised 3D models for efficient design workflows. Convrse.ai handles over 30 file formats, including FBX, GLB, GLTF, OBJ, and CAD files like DWG, DXF, and STL, ensuring smooth conversions across platforms.

Additionally, Convrse.ai supports over 16 CAD formats such as STP, SMF, IFC, and OCA, converting them into triangular mesh and optimising them for real-time applications. The platform prioritises the security and privacy of creators, ensuring that all creative assets remain confidential during optimisation.

DeepMatrix

An Integrated Platform To Ingest GIS Data

The drone industry in India is leveraging AI across sectors such as agriculture, defence, logistics, and surveillance. However, the adoption of AI in drones poses significant challenges due to poor infrastructure in the country, high development costs, and a lack of skilled professionals.

Naresh Soni encountered firsthand the difficulties businesses faced in effectively utilising AI within the drone industry. He teamed up with an IIT Kharagpur batchmate, Kaustubh Tripathi, to democratise AI technology. The result was DeepMatrix, a startup that specialises in offering geospatial data to a broad range of industries.

DeepMatrix provides AI-powered data analytics platforms for geospatial data analysis, photogrammetry, and platforms for utilities, mining, and urban mapping. It also offers data management and extensive storage solutions to sectors like mining, utilities, and urban mapping, ensuring high accuracy and quick turnaround times.

Recently, the startup raised $1.6M from YourNest, Arali Ventures, and angel investors, including Tracxn’s Abhishek Goyal. With funds in place, the deeptech service provider will now look to improve its product offerings and expand its presence in key markets such as the United States and Australia.

Elevate Now

Elevate Your Weight Loss Journey

Struggling with weight loss can feel like a never-ending battle for many individuals, especially when typical diets and fitness routines fail to address the root causes. This is where ElevateNow steps in, providing a solution that tackles weight management holistically by combining medical expertise with sustainable lifestyle changes.

ElevateNow’s programme is designed to help individuals achieve lasting weight loss through a doctor-led therapeutic plan that focusses on addressing the underlying factors contributing to weight gain. With personalised support, participants receive guidance on nutrition, fitness, and stress management, ensuring a well-rounded approach to health.

The programme offers two solutions — a 15-18% weight loss in six months plan and a 10-15% weight loss in 16 weeks plan with the Allurion Gastric Balloon — an innovative, non-surgical method for fast and effective results. ElevateNow prioritises long-term habit formation with precision nutrition and medicine-assisted interventions.

Backed by science and real results, ElevateNow helps participants not only lose weight but also build healthier, sustainable lifestyles.

Hyperbots

Automating Finance & Accounting Functions With AI

Hyperbots is an AI startup that focusses on automating finance and accounting functions. The startup has developed proprietary AI assistants, which have human-like intelligence, to automate manual, analytical, and strategic tasks in finance and accounting, reducing human involvement by 80%.

Founded in 2023 by Rajeev Pathak, Niyati Chhaya, and Ram Jayaraman, the leadership team brings deep expertise in AI and SaaS. Focussed on the US mid-market, Hyperbots targets companies with revenues between $50 Mn and $1 Bn, embedding AI into processes such as procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, and expense management.

The company recently secured $2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from Sunicon Ventures and Athera Venture Partners. This funding will accelerate Hyperbots’ go-to-market strategy and further develop its proprietary generative AI models for finance and accounting.

Kaatil

Desi Hot Condiments

Kaatil is an Indian chilli-focussed hot condiments brand, offering a range of products that highlight the heat and flavour of Indian chillies.

Founded by Sagar Merchant and Arjun Panwar under Smerc food and beverages, Kaatil’s product line includes hot sauces, hot ketchups, and chilli oils, all crafted using a variety of Indian chillies. The brand emphasises creating bold, spicy condiments that cater to those who enjoy authentic, fiery flavours in their food.

The brand’s products are available on its direct-to-consumer website, Amazon, Big Basket, Nature’s Basket, and at offline retail stores in Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad. Additionally, Kaatil has expanded its footprint internationally, with products now sold on Amazon USA and in stores in Canada and New Zealand.

The startup recently raised an undisclosed amount in its seed round led by Mumbai-based Prajay Advisors. Kaatil plans to use the funds to expand its product lines and distribution channels both nationally and internationally.

The brand is also focussing on building a dedicated B2B supply chain aimed at serving restaurants, hotels, and cafés. With its roots in Indian spices and a commitment to exploring new avenues for distribution, Kaatil is positioning itself as a growing player in the hot condiment space.

Kommunicate

AI-Powered Customer Service Automation Platform

Kommunicate was born out of a clear problem that its founders, Devashish Mamgain and Adarsh Kumar, experienced while running their previous venture, Applozic, where they managed customer support.

They noticed the inefficiencies in traditional support systems and the lack of effective automation. This challenge sparked the idea to create Kommunicate in 2020, a customer service automation platform that combines AI and human support to improve customer interactions.

Kommunicate is a Gen-AI-powered platform designed to automate over 80% of customer service processes, enabling businesses to deliver seamless 24/7 engagement across websites, mobile apps, and messaging platforms. Trusted by over 400 companies worldwide, the platform serves industries such as education, banking, ecommerce, insurance, and healthcare. Kommunicate helps businesses drive superior customer experiences by improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.

The company’s flagship products include Kompose, an NLP bot builder, a Gen AI chatbot, and a fully integrated live chat solution. Kommunicate stands out with its low-code, no-code platform that simplifies both building and maintenance. Its AI-agnostic nature allows businesses to choose the AI model that works best for them, while features like bot training, webhooks, and custom APIs enable seamless integration with existing support tools.

Operating on a flexible subscription-based model, Kommunicate offers tailored plans to meet varying business needs. With a presence across the US, the UK, Canada, India, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe, Kommunicate continues to scale its AI capabilities and expand globally.

Kwei

Simplifying Live Streaming Infrastructure

Founded in April 2024 by Khush Chandawat, Kwei.io simplifies live streaming for businesses by removing the complexity of setting up infrastructure. With its hybrid mesh architecture, it eliminates the need for complicated server setups, allowing companies to focus on creating great content.

Kwei.io supports a variety of applications, including video conferencing, live event streaming, conversational AI, and even robotics. Kwei.io has been built to reduce latency, enhance stream quality, and simplify scalability, making high-quality live streaming accessible to a broader audience. Users can launch their streaming services in three easy steps: connect with Kwei’s team, integrate their SDK, and go live.

With real-time analytics and multi-cloud support, Kwei.io offers a powerful and affordable solution for businesses of any size.

Maidaan

A Social Gaming & Competitions Platform For Students

Maidaan, founded in 2022 by Judhajit Bal and Shashank Awasthi, delivers a unique learning experience to school students through social gaming.

Growing up as Army kids in small cantonments, the founders only faced real competition during college entrance exams. They realised that Indian students belonging to middle-class families needed exposure to competition much earlier, which led to the creation of Maidaan.

Positioned as India’s largest inter-school contests platform, Maidaan enables students to engage in competitions focussed on subjects such as English, mathematics, science, and general knowledge. The goal is to make learning fun and competitive for students across the country.

The platform partners with schools to host multi-round tournaments that test critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students. The candidates can compete with peers beyond their school and city, receiving detailed performance analyses after each round. Merit rankers win awards, and the cycle continues throughout the year, providing students with ongoing opportunities for growth.

Launched in 2023, Maidaan has quickly grown, amassing over 10,000 users and partnering with 30+ schools, particularly in Pune. Backed by Inflection Point Ventures and We Founder Circle, Maidaan is focussed on expanding its reach and innovating its game formats to make learning more practical and engaging.

Meri Bhakti

All-In-One Hindu Devotional App

Founded in 2024 by Rachit Jain, Meri Bhakti aims at making faith and devotion more accessible in today’s digital world. The idea came during Jain’s solo trip to Ayodhya, where he saw the deep emotional connection people had during the Pran Pratishtha Ceremony. Jain realised, unlike many aspects of life, digitisation had yet to reform how people worship.

His research confirmed the need for more comprehensive digital services for devotees, leading him to launch the startup. Today, the platform offers a range of services designed to cater to your spiritual needs. The platform offers features like astrology consultations via call and chat, a global temple locator, daily religious stories, personalised greetings, and a pocket mandir feature for on-the-go pooja.

Currently, Meri Bhakti generates revenue through astrology consultations, but there are plans to expand into other areas such as religious tourism, pooja booking services, and an online shop for spiritual needs. With short-term goals of achieving product-market fit by the end of 2024, Meri Bhakti’s long-term vision is to serve over 1 Cr devotees worldwide by 2026.

Mitra

Nutrition-Focussed FMCG Startup

Founded by Abhishek Kaushik in 2023, Mitra is an FMCG brand offering nutrition-focussed products made using a 300-year-old stone grinding method. Its product line includes flours, gram flour, edible oils, millet-based goods, and spices.

With a 1.5-acre manufacturing unit in Mathura, Mitra caters to Tier II and III city consumers who want affordable, high-quality branded products.

The startup’s flagship offerings include pearl millet, corn flour, black wheat flour, and keto flour, all stone-ground, rich in fibre and roughage, and packaged to meet modern affordability standards.

In a market where premium goods are often out of reach, Mitra bridges the gap by providing reasonably priced alternatives that don’t compromise on quality. The brand operates through a strong offline distribution network of 500 distributors and 15,000 retail points in Delhi NCR and western UP.

Recently, the brand achieved significant milestones, including launching a mustard oil plant with 3 Lakh litres of monthly capacity, reaching a 78% repeat purchase ratio, and securing a funding of INR 11 Cr. Looking ahead, Mitra plans to expand exports to the Middle East and Europe and aims for an IPO by 2026.

Nautical Wings Aerospace

Electric Propulsion Solutions For Aviation

As the world shifts towards electric aviation, Nautical Wings Aerospace is tackling the dearth of domestic solutions for electric propulsion in India.

The startup focusses on developing state-of-the-art electric propulsion systems, specifically integrated electric propulsion units (iEPU). These systems are designed to be versatile, reliable, and safe, providing a complete solution for UAV and eVTOL manufacturers.

By offering plug-and-play iEPU options, Nautical Wings simplifies the integration process, allowing aircraft manufacturers to concentrate on other critical aspects of their designs while ensuring they have access to cutting-edge propulsion technology.

Founded in 2016 by Shiv Varun Singh Rajput during his college years, the company initially aimed to create India’s first submarine-launch aerial vehicle. However, recognising the pressing need for advanced propulsion technology in 2020, Shiv pivoted the company’s focus. With the help of college friends Praveen and Vikas, Nautical Wings is now committed to leading the electric aviation transition in India.

Currently, the company holds several patents pending in India, particularly for propeller technology, and operates on a B2B revenue model, collaborating with leading UAV and air taxi companies both domestically and internationally.

In the short term, Nautical Wings aims to redefine the medium and heavy-lift unmanned aerial propulsion market, while by 2026, it plans to introduce a 750 kW propulsion system, facilitating India’s first electric aircraft and eVTOL.

ORIGHT

Building Highly Efficient Supply Chain For The Dairy Industry

Cofounded in 2019 by Utkarsh Kapoor and Rame Kachroo, ORIGHT is a Gurugram-based dairytech startup. The company recently raised $1 Mn in a seed round led by Aeravti Ventures, following an earlier raise of $847K from Loyal and others. ORIGHT aims to transform the dairy supply chain with its IoT-driven milk traceability solutions.

Its IoT devices monitor key factors like temperature, humidity, water content, FAT, SNF, and potential adulterations in milk. The technology tracks the milk throughout its journey — from farm to chillers, transport vans, and the packing stage — sending real-time data to a blockchain network for secure and transparent recording.

By leveraging cutting-edge technology, ORIGHT seeks to create an efficient and synchronised supply chain in the dairy industry. ORIGHT’s solutions focus on ensuring transparency, quality, and sustainability from the point of production to the consumer’s table, empowering farmers, processors, and distributors alike.

plutosONE

Digital Bill Payment Solutions

Founded by Rohit Mahajan and Rajjat Gulati, plutos ONE is a licenced and empanelled Technical Service Provider (TSP) for the Bharat Bill Payments System (BBPS). The startup aims to enhance digital transaction capabilities for banks and improve the accessibility of digital bill payments.

Armed with a comprehensive suite of products and services, plutos ONE specialises in innovative solutions such as conversational AI for bill payments via WhatsApp and web interfaces. The company also provides incentives and engagement strategies for every transaction, along with complete billing solutions, including onboarding, settlements, refunds, and customer support.

In addition, plutos ONE operates the largest merchant-funded offers platform in India, featuring over 400 online brands. It manages card activation and offers platforms for various banks, networks, and large brands, partnering with key players like NPCI, Visa, HDFC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The company is PCI-DSS and ISO 27001:2013 certified. Its application stack operates on MeitY-certified data centres by Google, reinforcing its status as a preferred partner for Google Cloud.

Schmooze

India’s First Meme-Based Dating App

Founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag in 2021, Schmooze wants to transform the dating experience by tapping into the way Gen Z and millennials communicate and express themselves — through memes.

Madhavan recognised a shift in how younger generations seek connection, Schmooze connects people based on their meme taste rather than just physical appearances. While at Stanford, Vidya saw that Gen Z was tired of the conventional photo-swiping model and wanted something deeper and more authentic in their dating experiences. Memes, being universally consumed and expressive, became the perfect medium for this connection.

Schmooze’s flagship product is an AI-powered meme-based dating app that uses humour to bring people together. The app presents a stream of memes, and based on user interactions, it builds a personality profile.

This data is then used to find “vibe matches”— other users who share similar humour or personality traits. Beyond dating, Schmooze helps users combat loneliness with its AI-powered “Roast and Rant” features.

Roast AI mimics the experience of chatting with a stand-up comedian, while Rant AI acts as a comforting diary that listens and responds to users. Additionally, the app’s resident AI assistant, Genie, supports users throughout their dating journey by offering pick-up lines, conversation starters, and guidance.

Trainn

Accelerate Product Adoption & Customer Retention

Customer education for B2B SaaS companies often faces significant challenges due to fragmented tools and inefficient processes that waste valuable time and resources. Trainn addresses this critical issue by providing a comprehensive platform that changes how businesses educate their customers.

Founded by engineers Vivekanandhan Natarajan and Sumana Abirami Ammaiyappan, Trainn enables organisations to create, distribute, and measure training content effortlessly, transforming the landscape of customer education. With AI content authoring capabilities, users can generate engaging videos, interactive walkthroughs, and support documents with AI assistance.

Additionally, Trainn offers a help centre that allows organisations to scale a self-serve resource hub for all training materials. The platform also provides detailed analytics on engagement, retention, and feedback, giving businesses valuable insights into their training efforts.

By helping organisations save time, boost support productivity, and create brand advocates through personalised training experiences, Trainn eliminates the need for clunky tools and siloed programmes.

Tuco Intelligent

Intelligent Skin & Hair Care For Kids

Founded in 2023 by Aishvarya Murali, Tuco Intelligent aims to address the growing personal care needs of kids, from managing grime and sun exposure for younger children to tackling pre-adolescent concerns like body odour and oily skin.

The product line includes soaps, lotions, creams, makeup, and deodorants made from natural, time-tested ingredients like beetroot, turmeric, saffron, and rosehip. These formulas, inspired by traditional Indian remedies, provide effective, safe solutions for young skin and hair.

What sets Tuco Intelligent apart is its commitment to sustainability. All products are packaged in 100% landfill- and ocean-reclaimed plastic, emphasising the brand’s mission to create a greener future for children.

With a growing base of repeat customers and availability on platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and Firstcry, Tuco Intelligent is poised for rapid expansion, aiming to reshape the future of kids’ personal care.

The startup recently raised $2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Fireside Ventures and Whiteboard capital.

Umrit

AI-Powered Health Companion

A lot has changed after the pandemic, especially when it comes to people giving priority to their health and well-being.

Founded in 2024 by Subhendu Panigrahi, along with Akash Gehani and Sanmaya Dhal, Umrit offers an AI-based health companion designed to empower users to maintain their health.

By creating a digital twin for each individual, it generates a health score based on assessments of various functional systems, providing personalised recommendations and timely nudges for enhanced longevity.

Its flagship product, MO, analyses blood reports and assigns health scores across eight systems of human health using systems biology concepts. This holistic approach helps users better understand their health and receive tailored protocols to improve their scores, guiding them toward better health.

Operating on a freemium model, Umrit offers a free version with limited features and subscription plans for enhanced access. Recently, the platform has enabled over 50 users to identify chronic conditions and begin their journey to improved health. In 2024, Umrit plans to test its product with over 5,000 beta users, aiming for a user base of 5 Lakh by 2026, with 1% subscribing to premium plans.

Unscript.ai

Create Studio-Quality Videos In Minutes

AI startup Unscript aims to transform video creation by making it accessible and effortless for everyone. Founded in 2021 by Ritwika Chowdhury, Akhil Menon and Apurv Jain, Unscript wants to democratise video production, eliminating the need for expensive equipment or time-consuming editing processes.

The platform leverages advanced AI technology to simplify the entire process, allowing users to create professional-looking videos with lifelike AI presenters, personalise video marketing at scale, and unlock a range of creative possibilities.

Unscript aims to empower individuals, businesses, and content creators to produce compelling video content quickly and affordably. With video becoming the dominant medium for communication and marketing, Unscript is at the forefront of making this essential tool available to everyone. By removing technical barriers, the platform enables storytellers to focus on their creativity, not the complexities of video production.

The startup’s vision is to transform the future of content creation by allowing anyone, from individuals to large companies, to narrate impactful stories through video.

Valyx

Automating Revenue Management For B2B Companies

While serving Stripe, a multinational financial services and SaaS company, Avishek Ray and Anirudh Bhargava discovered that Indian B2B startups face significant challenges in managing receivables. They also found that most of these companies were stuck with outdated manual processes like Excel and emails, leading to further inefficiencies.

This led to the inception of Valyx in 2023. The startup aims to shape the future of finance for fast-growing businesses. Valyx makes revenue management error-free. It eliminates tedious and repetitive tasks by automating billing, invoicing, and collections.

Through its integration with banks, payment gateways, and ERPs, the startup provides businesses with a real-time, comprehensive view of their cash flows.

The platform simplifies complex billing scenarios, such as usage-based pricing, tiered structures, and volume discounts. Tasks that traditionally consume hours using Excel can also be automated.

The platform also helps businesses automate their receivables process by enabling customised collection strategies. It can send out invoices with embedded payment links, run collections on autopilot, and ensure faster payments.

Valyx also automates reconciliation by matching payments to outstanding invoices, integrating with payment gateways and ERP systems to eliminate manual posting, ensuring faster and more accurate financial reporting.

Venttup

Pioneering Industries 5.0

Venttup is an Industries 5.0 startup focussed on building a global network of scalable manufacturing and engineering capacities, with India as its central hub.

Founded by Sandeep Nair, M. Wasim Ankli, and Joseph Panakkal, the company aims to transform the manufacturing landscape by bringing millions of MSMEs onto a single digital platform, improving supply chain efficiency and enabling localised production of critical engineering components.

The startup focusses on sectors such as energy, electric vehicles (EV), aerospace, and defence, offering customised, complex engineering solutions. Venttup’s platform allows large enterprises to outsource their engineering needs while reducing carbon footprints through cloud manufacturing and sustainable practices. This localised production model helps businesses enhance operational efficiency and meet sustainability goals.

Since its inception in 2023, Venttup claims to have achieved INR 2 Cr in annual recurring revenue (ARR). It boasts an order pipeline of INR 20 Cr. With recent seed funding from Unicorn India Ventures, Venttup plans to accelerate its business growth and technology development for its Indigenisation Program Management. The company aims to increase its revenue fivefold in the next year by securing 50 new clients, positioning itself as a key player in the future of global manufacturing.

Vidyo.ai

AI-Curated Short Clips

The social media and content creation industry faces several challenges, from ideation and creation to publishing and management. Many businesses and professionals struggle with managing diverse platforms, maintaining quality content, and keeping up with fast-evolving trends. Traditional tools often require multiple applications to handle various tasks like video editing, scheduling, and analytics, creating inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

Vidyo.ai aims to solve these challenges with an AI-first solution that streamlines the entire social media process. Founded by Vedant Maheshwari & Kushagrs Pandya in content creation and AI development, Vidyo.ai simplifies ideation, video creation, editing, publishing, analytics, and automation. Its flagship products include an AI-powered video editor and smart social media publishing tools that allow automatic video creation, editing, and distribution across multiple platforms.

With a freemium SaaS model, Vidyo.ai has already gained traction globally, especially in the US, with a $2 Mn ARR within 18 months of launch. They recently onboarded three major entertainment companies as enterprise clients and launched a dedicated offering for teams and agencies.

Short-term goals for 2024 include launching four new products and closing their seed funding round. By 2026, the company aims to hit $10 Mn ARR and offer a comprehensive platform for social media marketing that covers every aspect in depth.

Wundrsight Health

Revolutionising Mental Healthcare With AI, VR

Wundrsight Health aims to revolutionise mental healthcare by integrating Virtual Reality (VR) and AI to address the problem of therapy adherence.

Traditional therapy can be dull and ineffective for many patients, leading to missed sessions and incomplete treatment. Wundrsight offers clinician-led care management with immersive, tailored virtual worlds, delivering evidence-based therapies for various mental health conditions like anxiety, stress, and substance use disorders.

Using data and analytics, therapy is personalised, and progress is tracked in real time. Wundrsight’s flagship products — ReviveXR for substance use disorders, ReliefXR for stress management, and BoostXR for neurodiverse learners — provide patients with a more engaging, accessible form of care.

Founded by Raunak Swarnkar and Nishtha Budhiraja in 2022, Wundrsight aims to bridge the gap in quality care by using cutting-edge technology. Nishtha’s psychology background and experience in the UK’s National Health Services, combined with Raunak’s product expertise, have led to the creation of this platform.

With a B2B platform-as-a-service revenue model, Wundrsight is already operational in India and South Asia. Recent milestones include seed funding, onboarding hospitals, and conducting clinical trials.

Zippee

Enabling Same-Day Deliveries For D2C Brands

Zippee was founded in 2021 by Madhav Kasturia after he faced ecommerce delivery delays during the pandemic lockdown in Delhi.

Kasturia claims Zippee to be India’s first quick commerce logistics-as-a-service platform for over 1 Lakh ecommerce brands. The solution allows brands to offer two-hour or same-day delivery directly through their websites and channels. It has an extensive network of dark stores and last-mile fleets across the country.

Zippee’s flagship product, Zippee Blaze, enhances web conversions, reduces RTO rates, and boosts customer loyalty for participating brands. While the company does not hold any patent, it has developed a proprietary tech stack to support its operations.

The startup recently launched quick delivery services for notable brands like ITC, Mondelez, and Haagen Dazs. Zippee’s short-term plan includes expanding to 20 cities, while it wants to become India’s largest enabler of quick commerce across 50 cities by 2026.

Zivy

An AI Tool To Prioritise Workplace Messages & Tasks

The overwhelming influx of notifications, emails, and messages has become a universal bugbear for professionals, who often find themselves drowned in the sea of alerts and notifications.

This resonated deeply with Prashanth YV and Vivek Karna during their time at leading startups Razorpay and Flipkart, respectively.

Despite their best efforts, the constant barrage of communication made it nearly impossible to focus on what truly mattered. They realised that this struggle was not unique to them.

Determined to address this pervasive issue, they launched Zivy to empower managers and team leads. Zivy serves as a personalised copilot, filtering through various work applications, starting with Slack, to curate only the most relevant conversations and tasks.

By adapting to users’ changing priorities, Zivy simplifies workflows and enhances productivity. Currently, the platform features a priority inbox for Slack messages, specifically designed to help managers focus on what truly matters and break free from the chaos of modern work life.

Going forward, Zivy aims to manage communication overload for managers across all the work tools, including Slack, WhatsApp, Teams, Discord, Gmail, Jira, Linear, Notion, and Google Docs. By 2026, Zivy plans to develop an AI copilot that automates tasks like report generation, survey management, and performance data collection.

[With Inputs From Anne Florentyna, Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post 30 Startups To Watch: Startups That Caught Our Eyes In September 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Rohan Malhotra, cofounder and managing partner at early-stage venture investment firm Good Capital, passed away yesterday (October 1).

Known for his sharp investment acumen and deep commitment to nurturing startups, Malhotra cofounded Good Capital with his brother Arjun Malhotra in 2019.

The seed-stage VC firm quickly established itself by investing in transformative businesses, focused on software that enables agent-led distribution models and supports entrepreneurs who approach problem-solving through first-principles thinking.

His academic credentials, including an M.A. in Business Management from the University of St. Andrews and a YSS in Economics from Yale University, laid the foundation for his distinguished career, positioning him as a leading figure in the startup and investment world.

Malhotra’s journey in the business world began as an intern at HSBC. His talent and vision later led him to serve as an advisor at AngelList India, where he played a pivotal role in supporting the startup ecosystem. Before venturing into venture capital, he cofounded Investopad, a startup incubator aimed at fostering entrepreneurial growth.

Under Rohan Malhotra’s leadership, Good Capital launched its maiden fund with a target corpus of $25 Mn that backed startups from pre-seed to Series A stages.

Further, his vision also played a crucial role in the firm’s expansion, as it announced its second fund with a target corpus of $50 Mn, along with a $25 Mn greenshoe option. This fund aimed to support founders leveraging AI in distribution, personalisation, or business operations, with plans to write up to $1.5 Mn cheques over the next four years. Through this, the firm was aiming to invest in around 30-35 startups.

Good Capital’s investment portfolio includes startups like Meesho, simsim (acquired by Google), Definitive Intelligence (acquired by Groq) and Autonomic (acquired by Ford).

Tributes have poured in from the startup ecosystem, including Zishaan Hayath and Rahul Chaudhary.

“Shattering to think of a world without you, Rohan. In your short well-lived life, you filled us with warmth, laughter, ambition and hugs. They made only one like you,” Zishaan Hayath, cofounder of edtech startup Toppr said.

“Feeling broken. The kindest, the most generous, the most open hearted one ever created.
Rest in peace, Rohan,” Rahul Chaudhary, cofounder of Treebo, said.

“Rohan was more than a friend, he was my little brother, my golf partner and an irreplaceable human being. Memories you have given us in a short time are forever. Life can be very unfair at times,” Waqar Younis, former Pakistan Cricket Team coach wrote on X.

The post Startup Ecosystem Mourns The Loss Of Good Capital Cofounder Rohan Malhotra appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka High Court has directed Ola’s parent entity ANI Technologies to pay a compensation of INR 5 Lakh to a woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by one of its cab drivers in 2018.

The court observed that he would be considered an employee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).

A single-judge bench of Justice M G S Kamal passed the order on Monday (September 30).

As per the case, in August 2018, a woman had taken an Ola cab to her office in Bengaluru when the driver allegedly stared at her through the mirror and watched an obscene video on a mobile phone, positioning it so that it was visible to her. The woman filed a police complaint and later moved the high court, seeking action under the POSH Act.

The High Court ordered Ola’s Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) to investigate the sexual harassment complaint filed by the petitioner on September 30, 2018, and complete the process within 90 days, as per the provisions of the POSH Act.

In addition to the compensation, ANI Technologies is required to pay INR 50,000 to cover the woman’s litigation costs.

Inc42 has reached out to Ola for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“This is a much-needed decision. While it addresses harassment under the PoSH Act, it sets an important precedent for recognizing drivers as employees. The court’s detailed scrutiny of employer responsibilities opens the door for broader protections for gig workers across India,” said Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT).

Besides, the court also directed OLA to uphold Section 16 of the POSH Act, ensuring the confidentiality of the individuals involved in the case. The Karnataka State Transport Authority has also been instructed to continue its investigation into OLA on related matters, with a 90-day deadline for completion.

This comes at a time when the government is taking several security measures for gig workers. Recently, labour and employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that aggregator platforms will soon have to register details of their gig workers on the e-Shram portal.

Incorporated in 2021, the e-Shram portal is a national database of unorganised workers, including migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers.

Earlier in August, auto and taxi drivers across Delhi NCR protested against cab aggregators like Ola and Uber.

Further, women gig workers associated with Urban Company went on a strike at the startup’s Bengaluru office to protest against its new terms of reference in June this year. At the time, the gig workers claimed that the work conditions at the company were “horrific” and forced “thousands of partners to work under slavery like situations”.

Notably, Fairwork India rated Ola, Uber, Dunzo, and Porter as the worst-performing startups on its index on working conditions of gig workers.

The post Karnataka HC Orders Ola To Pay INR 5 Lakh To Woman Allegedly Harassed By Cab Driver appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India, has pared the size of its $2.85 Bn fund by 16% or $465 Mn more than a year after it split from Silicon Valley-based Sequoia Capital.

“In the context of a richly priced public market in India, we are investing in a measured manner in our growth fund, while we continue to lean in on seed and venture stage opportunities. As a result, we have made the decision to re-size our 2022 vintage funds by 16%,” Peak XV said in a statement.

Peak XV Partners has opted to tie a portion of its carried interest to profit distributions in its growth and multi-stage funds, while keeping the economics of its seed and venture funds unchanged.

Despite going against current market optimism, the VC firm believes this approach will benefit both founders and limited partners (LPs) in the long run. The decision has been positively received, as highlighted in feedback from a large non-profit LP, it added.

“Our conviction about investing in India & South East Asia has never been stronger. We are on track to have our second best year for distributions and exits in our history thanks to strong portfolio performance,” the VC firm also said.

In addition to reducing the size of its fund, Peak XV is also lowering the management fees it charges LPs from 2.5% to 2%, an ET report added.

The firm is also cutting its carry—the profits it earns from exits—on growth investments from 30% to 20%. However, if a fund in the growth or multi-stage category reaches a 3X distribution to paid-in (DPI) capital, the carry will revert back to 30%. DPI measures the total capital returned to the fund’s LPs or sponsors.

Peak XV Partners also reportedly realised exits worth nearly $1.2 Bn in the 15 months since its separation from parent Sequoia last year. The VC major sold stakes in “nearly a dozen” listed portfolio companies in the past year, including foodtech major Zomato, D2C unicorn Mamaearth and caller identification platform Truecaller.

The VC firm also offloaded stakes in startups such as edtech platform K12 Techno, digital entertainment startup Pocket Aces and cybersecurity startup PingSafe via secondary transactions and mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Since entering India in 2006 through the acquisition of WestBridge Capital’s team, Sequoia India quickly established itself as a leading investor in the country’s startup ecosystem, backing prominent unicorns like CRED, Meesho, Groww, Mamaearth, and Unacademy. However, last year, Sequoia Capital underwent a split, dividing into three independent entities.

The India and South Asia operations were rebranded as Peak XV Partners, while the China business took on the name HongShan.

The post Peak XV Pares Size Of Its Largest Fund By 16%, Slashes Fees appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chennai-based SaaS unicorn Zoho marked a significant milestone last year when it surpassed 100 Mn users across its suite of business applications. With this, it became the first Indian bootstrapped SaaS company to achieve this milestone. 

In an industry where startups often chase valuations over sustainable growth, Zoho has been focussed on prioritising operational and revenue growth over fancy valuations. The company’s operating revenue for the fiscal ending March 31, 2023, INR 8,703.6 Cr, up 30% YoY. 

Although North America was a key pillar of this growth, contributing nearly half of its total revenue, the company is now keenly focussed on boosting its presence in the Indian market.

For this, the company recently ventured into the payments space with the launch of Zoho Payments. 

Recently, Zoho also unveiled two new offerings:

• Vikra, an app aimed at simplifying the onboarding process for businesses participating in the Open Network for Digital Commerce, and
• Zoho IoT, a low-code platform empowering companies to develop custom IoT solutions. 

Besides, the founder expressed his vision to leverage India’s potential in the global supply chain, especially in power electronics.

Speaking with Inc42 on the sidelines of its annual event Zoholics, Vembu shared insights into the company’s vision for the future.

Here are the edited excerpts…

Inc42: Zoho recently made two announcements about entering new domains. Could you explain the reasoning behind these moves and how they fit into your overall strategy?

Sridhar Vembu: First is Vikra App, our solution for sellers on the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). The goal of ONDC is to reduce the cost of ecommerce transactions for both sellers and buyers, unlike other proprietary platforms that charge high commissions.

Through Vikra App, we are integrating Zoho Inventory, Books, Payments, and more into the ONDC ecosystem. We are starting with sellers, many of whom are already Zoho customers using our software for GST filing, so it’s a natural fit.

In addition, we are expanding our focus to include IoT. Zoho traditionally empowers people, organisations, processes, and collaboration. Now, we are focussing on physical assets like buildings, air conditioning systems, generators, factory machines, and moving vehicles. 

Our IoT is capable of integrating with our CRM, allowing vendors to monitor customer premises as part of their services. This push into IoT complements the Zoho ecosystem.

Inc42: Zoho’s portfolio now offers over 50 products, covering a wide range of business functions, from ecommerce to semiconductors. What key areas will you prioritise for future growth, especially in R&D?

Sridhar Vembu: Our goal is to bring critical technologies to India and create jobs for youth. We are investing in critical technology access for national interest, not just company interest. Our unique approach is fostering rural development through research and development. It’s a very mission-driven initiative.

Inc42: With AI becoming a key focus across industries, how is Zoho incorporating AI into its product suite? 

Sridhar Vembu: We are doing two things. First, we are developing smaller, context-specific models — like an AI writing assistant for document creation, tools for summarisation, customer churn prediction in CRM, or anomaly detection in IoT. These models are efficient, often running on CPUs without needing expensive GPUs. 

Then we have large language models (LLMs), where we are conducting R&D and also collaborating with major AI providers, integrating their APIs into our systems.

Lastly, we are focussing on AI for software development, aiming to make it more productive, though accuracy is still a challenge that we are working on.

Inc42: With the rise of AI, there’s been increased emphasis on data privacy. Zoho has always been vocal about keeping user data within the country of origin. How are you balancing the growing need for privacy and compliance with global data regulations while continuing to innovate? Are there any new measures or products you’re planning to introduce to address these concerns?

Sridhar Vembu: We are heavily investing in privacy, security, and compliance, especially given that governments are adopting stricter regulations like GDPR in Europe, privacy laws in India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and other countries. We are focussed not only on protecting our customer data but also on providing security software for our customers’ systems.

Additionally, we are exploring AI’s potential to detect threats early on, which ties into the concept of zero trust — a security model where no one, not even employees, is trusted by default. It’s an added layer of security, and we are investing in that.

Inc42: The SaaS segment is becoming more competitive, especially with the rise of AI. What are the key differentiators Zoho is focussing on to stay competitive? 

Sridhar Vembu: Our balance comes from deep investments in R&D, which is higher in percentage of revenue compared to companies like Salesforce, where a lot is spent on sales and marketing. This gives us a long-term edge. Take Slack, for example. They were acquired for $27 Bn, but now that ecosystem is losing momentum.

Meanwhile, our Zoho Cliq is growing strong because of continued R&D investment. That’s the edge — investing in R&D, not just competing on price.

Inc42: Last year, we saw Zoho decentralising its operations. Could you elaborate on the strategy behind this move, particularly establishing offices in rural India and beyond? What impact has this had on talent acquisition and innovation?

Sridhar Vembu: We are focussing on rural areas for two main reasons. First, there’s untapped talent in these regions. Second, it’s about rural development. I believe in fostering rural development through R&D. The skills and capabilities we create and nurture through these jobs are critical for rural growth.

This is also about decentralising development. We cannot afford to bring more people into our already crowded cities. For instance, we are here in Bengaluru, and we all know how bad the traffic situation is. From a national priority standpoint, it’s crucial to move these jobs to smaller towns and even villages.

Inc42: What kind of growth did you see in FY24? 

Sridhar Vembu: In FY24, we saw over 30% growth in customer count and 21% in revenue. As long as we remain profitable, we are not too concerned about profit growth in the short term. We are making necessary long-term investments in R&D, which will secure our future growth.

The post Zoho’s Competitive Edge Lies In Investing In R&D, Not Just Competing On Price: Sridhar Vembu appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Game streaming platform Loco has sold its majority stake to UAE-based Redwood, a newly floated investment firm, for $65 Mn to expand its footprint into the overseas markets.

With the new investor injecting significant capital to support Loco’s global expansion, the deal also provides an exit for the startup’s existing investors.

The transaction is a mix of primary and secondary infusion, which will enable Loco to venture into newer markets in the next one year, as per the startup.

“This investment is a recognition of the immense work done by our team in the past few years. Gaming is an integral part of the cultural zeitgeist globally, and we look forward to building a platform that is at the heart of this global movement. Live streaming enables authentic connection in a way that other mediums can’t match and we want to put the fan at the center of this experience,” said Loco’s founders Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh.

Bengaluru-based Loco, founded in 2017, has grown into a major player in the gaming community, employing 249 individuals. The platform has fostered highly engaged communities across popular game categories such as BGMI, Free Fire, Call of Duty Mobile, Clash of Clans, Grand Theft Auto (GTA), and Valorant.

As part of its international rollout, the company will announce new partnerships with major gaming companies, esports athletes, and streamers to enhance its content offerings. Loco has previously collaborated with leading publishers such as Krafton, Activision, Ubisoft, and Riot Games, as well as global brands like the NBA and FIFAe, and plans to extend these partnerships to new markets.

Last year, Loco laid off 40 employees, approximately 36% of its 110-member workforce, as part of a strategic realignment to focus on transaction-based monetization and operate with a leaner cost structure.

The layoffs came after the platform raised $42 Mn (INR 330 crore) in a Series A funding round in 2022 led by Hashed.

Loco’s investor base also includes gaming giant Krafton and gaming-focused VC Lumikai.

Last year, Saregama acquired a 51.82% stake in Loco’s sister property Pocket Aces at a valuation of $40 Mn. The music giant was also planning to acquire 92.61% stake in Pocket Aces eventually.

The post Gaming Platform Loco Sells Its Majority Stake To UAE’s Redwood In Overseas Push appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Singapore courts have granted cryptocurrency exchange WazirX a four-month moratorium, the company said.

The court has approved the moratorium with specific conditions. WazirX is required to disclose wallet addresses through a court affidavit, address user queries raised during court proceedings, release detailed financial information, and ensure that future voting on court applications is overseen by independent parties. These measures aim to enhance transparency and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders throughout the resolution process.

WazirX claimed that from the onset of the proceedings, the company has actively engaged with creditors, demonstrating its commitment to addressing their concerns.

The company highlighted the court’s acknowledgment of its prompt response in filing for the moratorium, which WazirX asserts will pave the way for the fastest, creditor-approved, and legally binding resolution to restore crypto balances, ensuring a fair and timely outcome for all stakeholders.

“Our immediate filing for the moratorium was a decisive step taken to ensure the fastest, fairest, creditor-approved, legally binding path to resolution where creditors have a token choice and potential upside in a bull run,” Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, said.

WazirX, which suffered a $234 Mn hack, losing approximately 45% of its customers’ funds, filed an application with the Singapore High Court seeking a six-month moratorium.

After Zebpay’s temporary closure in 2018 and Koinex’s shutdown shortly after, WazirX quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of India’s largest crypto exchanges and maintaining its dominance for several years.

At one point, Binance appeared to have acquired WazirX, but the relationship between the two companies eventually deteriorated, leading to a highly publicised fallout on social media.

Despite this dispute with Binance, WazirX remained one of India’s most popular crypto exchanges until July. The surge in cryptocurrency interest in 2021, driven by Bitcoin’s exponential rise, enabled WazirX to achieve a remarkable trading volume of $38 Bn, with a 44% month-on-month growth.

The attack on WazirX began on July 18 when one of its multi-signature or multisig wallets was breached and cybercriminals stole $234 Mn (or around INR 2K Cr) in digital assets.

In a blog post on July 18 — the day of the hack — WazirX said the attack stemmed from a “discrepancy between the data displayed on Liminal’s interface and the transaction’s actual contents.”

With 45% of total user funds lost in the hack, WazirX had no option but to freeze all trading and withdrawals on the platform. In a desperate bid to recover the stolen assets, the exchange announced two white hat bounty rewards on July 21.

Under the first programme, WazirX offered up to $10,000 worth of Tether (USDT) for actionable intelligence that could lead to the freezing of the stolen funds.

Later, Liminal blamed WazirX for the $230 Mn exploit, claiming that a forensic analysis found no evidence that the cyber attack originated from its web application.

Liminal hired audit and forensics company Grant Thornton to conduct a comprehensive review of its web application including the front end, User Interface (UI), and backend of Liminal’s infrastructure.

The post WazirX Gets Some Respite As Singapore Court Grants Crypto Exchange Four-Month Moratorium appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of fintech SaaS startup Zaggle rose 6.86% to reach INR 461.55 apiece in Thursday’s early trade (September 26) after it announced the acquisitions of two companies — Span Across IT Solutions and Mobileware Technologies. However, the stock later shed some gains and was trading at INR 444.9 at 11:58 am. The stock ended Wednesday’s trade at INR 431.90 apiece.

Notably, the board of directors of Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services, in a meeting held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, approved the acquisition of 10,66,314 equity shares with a face value of INR 10 each at a price of INR 300.80 per share (including a premium of INR 290.80 per share), representing a 98.32% stake in Span Across IT Solutions.

Consequently, Span Across will become a subsidiary of Zaggle following the completion of the necessary procedural requirements.The proposed acquisition provides an opportunity to enter a new segment of employee-related business, the company stated.

Founded in 2007, Span Across deals in online income tax return preparation services and development of software. It reported INR 4.73 Cr revenue in financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

“Span Across will become a subsidiary company with 98.32% stake and this will help in achieving inorganic growth which will benefit all the stakeholders associated with the Company, including shareholders at large,” the company said in an exchange filing.

Meanwhile, Zaggle also announced that it acquired a 26% stake in Mobileware Technologies (now known as ‘86400’) for INR 15.6 Cr.

Founded in 2010, ‘86400’ provides digital banking and fintech solutions. The company helps banks and financial institutions improve their digital services, especially in rural and urban areas. With the acquisition, Zaggle is eying to tap into 86400’s expertise and infrastructure to improve its payment offerings.

“This strategic investment will not only strengthen our offerings but also create new opportunities to co-develop advanced solutions that place payments at the core of our clients’ business needs,” Zaggle founder and executive chairman Raj Narayanam said.

Founded in 2011 by Narayanam, Zaggle provides a spend management platform for businesses, along with an employee benefits platform. It has a diversified portfolio of SaaS products, including tax and payroll software. The company made its stock market debut in September 2023.

Zaggle registered a significant 153% YoY jump in net profit to INR 19.2 Cr in the March quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Boosted by increased income from SaaS subscriptions, program fees, and revenue generated by its employee rewards solutions platform, Propel, the company also recorded its highest-ever quarterly operating revenue of INR 273.4 Cr. This represents a 46.3% increase from the INR 186.8 Cr reported in Q4 FY23.

The post Zaggle Shares Gain 7% After Key Acquisition Announcements appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With fashion apparel and accessories taking the second spot in the country’s high-octane ecommerce space (expected to surpass the $112 Bn mark by 2030), there is a reason why everyone — from international brands to homegrown players — wants to ride this tide. 

Besides growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%, the long-term prospects in the space, too, continue to remain solid on the back of a growing middle class, rising disposable incomes, and the increasing influence of social media on fashion trends. 

However, while everything appears flashy on the consumer end of the table, the supply side of fashion in India has several loose ends. For starters, the Indian fashion market is highly unorganised and relies heavily on small-scale manufacturers, who are often seen grappling with inefficiencies in production and inconsistent fabric quality. Further, rising transportation costs and labour shortages make it difficult for manufacturers to meet demand in a timely and cost-effective manner.

It is precisely this challenge that the trio of Mayank Narain, Pushpendra Singh, and Naresh Dhaka are trying to solve with Fabrito. Founded in 2022, Fabrito is a B2B fabric marketplace that simplifies fabric sourcing for brands & garment manufacturers.  

The startup does this by making available a wide variety of fabric options to apparel manufacturers, ensuring fast turnaround times and accommodating even small order quantities. The founders’ proactive approach helps smaller brands keep pace with market demands and swiftly evolving fashion trends.

According to the founders, Fabrito was able to garner more than INR 6 Cr in sales in its first fiscal of operations. As simple as it sounds, the inception story of Fabrito starts with Dhaka’s keen observation of the state of fabric supply chains in India.

It is pertinent to mention that Dhaka comes with a decade-long experience in the fashion industry. He has headed supply chain, customer care, and various other functions at Chennai-based fashion ecommerce platform eShakti. He has also worked with B2B marketplace Fashinza. 

During his stints at these startups, he noticed that fashion brands were often required to launch new collections within a month or 45 days but faced issues with existing fabric supply chains. 

He also found that traditional supply chains were reluctant to handle low order quantities and incapable of offering fast turnaround times and a wide range of fabric options. The realisation became the bedrock for the inception of Fabrito, which today boasts of addressing the fabric supply chain challenges in a unique fashion. 

“For customers who require a fast turnaround, low order quantities, and a wide variety of fabrics, we aggregate surplus fabric that is available across the country. Many mills produce export-quality fabrics that remain unused, and we bring these onto a single platform. We also provide a mobile application to fabric suppliers, allowing them to easily upload photos and fill in key details such as fabric content, width, and weight. This helps them swiftly find manufacturers looking for fabric,” Dhaka said.

How Is Fabrito Helping Smaller Fashion Brands?

Currently, Fabrito targets a diverse range of customers within the fashion ecommerce segment. However, the startup’s focus is not just specific to fashion brands and manufacturers that sell through online marketplaces like Myntra and Ajio. 

The startup’s customer base also comprises D2C fashion brands, small to medium-sized retailers, and even larger brands that frequently launch new collections in response to changing consumer trends.

“Essentially, any fashion brand looking to adapt quickly to market demands, minimise inventory risks, and enhance their fabric sourcing capabilities would be a potential customer for Fabrito. We also support those who may not have established supply chains to cater to changing trends in the fashion industry,” Dhaka added.

However, beyond this, the startup is toiling to assuage small manufacturers from the trouble of minimum quantity order (MQO).

With this approach, the startup has helped many small and medium manufacturers reduce the risk of excess inventory.

Sometimes to monitor the sales performance of certain styles, brands have no option but to resort to the strategy of ordering smaller quantities per style. In such cases, brands are often hit with the barrier of minimum order quantities when sourcing fabrics. 

However, Fabrito allows brands to order fabric in smaller quantities. This flexibility enables brands to experiment with styles and reduce the risk of overproduction, the founder said.

Fabrito’s Key Offerings

Currently, Fabrito offers a large collection of ready-made fabrics on its platform. Customers can order as little as 100 metres of fabric, which is enough to produce about 40 to 50 pieces for most brands.

The platform also offers “never out of stock” fabrics from various mills across the country. If a customer wants a custom print on base fabric, Fabrito delivers that within a week.

Hence, it caters to both ready-to-order fabrics and custom-made requirements. In terms of ready-to-order fabrics, Fabrito claims to have a large collection of nearly 3K fabrics on the platform.

For custom or “made-to-order” fabrics, the startup works with printing and weaving units to whom it regularly provides orders. Fabrito has around 40-50 suppliers, including both traders and mills. Of these, 10-15 are specifically for made-to-order fabrics, while the rest provide ready-made fabrics.

Fabrito’s Future Outlook

As of now, Fabrito’s expansion plan involves increasing its fabric offerings on the platform. It has set its eyes on featuring 3,000 fabrics by the end of the month to nearly 10,000 by next month.

On the demand side, the company has collaborations with 60 brands and 40-50 garment manufacturers in India. 

Now, Fabrito wants to onboard small brands from the UK, the US, and Dubai. In its first financial year, it achieved over INR 6 Cr in sales, with a net loss of around INR 1 Lakh. Although the founder did not reveal the revenue projection for FY25, he expects the revenue run rate to grow 4-5X.

Fabrito is capitalising on the growth of India’s fashion industry to scale up its fabric sourcing business, but it faces challenges like complex supply chain management, uniformity in fabric quality, and competitive pricing pressures. 

It is due to these demons that Fashinza, a B2B marketplace in this space, failed to sustain and returned most of its funds ($152 Mn) to investors earlier this year. 

Other major players in the fabric sourcing and apparel manufacturing sector include Genie Mode, Groyo, and Zyod, as well as smaller startups like Fabriclore and Locofast.

“In this space, Fabrito has differentiated itself by setting up its fabric supply chain that brands and manufacturers can directly access. Instead of merely facilitating apparel production, the company offers ready-to-use fabrics directly through the platform,” Dhaka said.

All in all, the Indian fashion industry is growing at 6% year-on-year, while fashion ecommerce is experiencing a remarkable 30% annual growth. This rapid expansion creates a need for more sources to support the evolving demands of online fashion retail.

This is where Fabrito fits perfectly in providing brands with easy access to a diverse range of fabrics and enabling them to launch smaller collections quickly.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post How Fabrito Is Solving Supply Chain Woes For Indian Garment Makers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Home interior solutions startup HomeLane’s parent company, Homevista Decor & Furnishings Private Limited, has acquired its smaller rival DesignCafe in a share-swap transaction.

Post the acquisition, DesignCafe will continue to operate as an independent brand. HomeLane and DesignCafe will cater to different segments of the market, HomeLane cofounder Srikanth Iyer told Inc42.

The combined entity is expected to achieve a revenue of INR 1,000 Cr in FY25, up 33% from INR 761 Cr in FY24, and turn EBITDA profitable, Iyer said.

Besides the acquisition, HomeLane also raised INR 225 Cr (around $27 Mn) from Hero Enterprise and its existing investors. However, the startup did not disclose the names of the existing investors who participated in the funding round.

A part of the fresh capital will be used to accelerate growth and achieve about 30% year-on-year growth for the next few years.

“Secondly, funds will be used for brand building. The existing brands, including DesignCafe and HomeLane, among others, will continue to coexist and thrive, requiring resources to strengthen their individual identities,” Iyer said.

Lastly, investments will be made in technology. DesignCafe and HomeLane have developed significant technological advancements, and the funds will be used to pursue further advancements, especially in AI, to provide more value to customers, he added.

Founded in 2014 by Iyer, Rama Harinath, and Vivek Parasuram, HomeLane offers personalised tech-enabled end-to-end interior services.

Last year, HomeLane closed a bridge round of INR 75 Cr (about $9.1 Mn). It is backed by the likes of Evolvence, NuVentures, Sequoia Capital, Accel, JSW Ventures, Mohandas Pai, and MS Dhoni.

On the other hand, DesignCafe was founded in 2016 by Gita Ramanan and Shezaan Bhojani with the vision of making innovative home interior solutions affordable.

HomeLane and DesignCafe are currently present in 30 cities with a total of 82 stores.

HomeLane gets a majority of revenue from cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Tier II cities such as Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, and Surat account for about 20% of the revenue and are seeing “phenomenal growth”, HomeLane cofounder and COO Tanuj Choudhry said.

HomeLane competes with startups like LivSpace, Urban Company, NoBroker, among others.

“In terms of competition, while there are many players in the market, we believe there’s ample room for all of us. Together, we occupy only 5% of the home interiors market, and it’s not a winner takes all scenario. Our key differentiator at HomeLane has always been our ability to deliver predictably—on time, within budget, and with great design aesthetics,” Iyer said.

According to him, the startup’s main competition, however, is not with other brands but with the unorganised sector. A significant portion of customers still turn to local carpenters. The startup wants to close this gap by delivering a high-quality, affordable products that meet the needs of every customer segment.

The post HomeLane Acquires DesignCafe, Raises INR 225 Cr Funding From Hero Enterprise, Others appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The investment landscape in the country is going through a shift never seen before, with more and more women founders and investors winning themselves a bigger share in the high-octane arena of the Indian startup space. 

Be it Swati Nangalia Mehra of Sixth Sense Ventures, who directly ventured into the world of investing, or the founders-turned-investors Ghazal Alagh and Vineeta Singh, many of these trailblazing women have made their mark in the homegrown startup ecosystem. This is notwithstanding other veterans such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Rekha Menon who have already set examples for many in the past. 

Many of these women investors bring years of experience to the table and have today emerged as role models for the country’s youth. However, things were not the same a few years ago, the founder of She Capital Anisha Singh told Inc42.

“It was hard explaining to people that women are successful as entrepreneurs. Now that we have given mega returns to our investors, they’re excited… and understand that women are great business persons,” she added. 

As sharp as a knife, these new-age women investors have their eyes on the stars and feet on the ground, and they are charging through with great perseverance. With numerous successful exits, Indian women investors are creating templates that will be followed by many in the years to come. 

However, more importantly, women founders and investors possess something really important when it comes to building an enterprise and the world of investing.

“They will call a spade a spade and tell you things exactly as they are and not how they can be,” opines the cofounder and CFO of B2B building material marketplace OfBusiness Ruchi Kalra on what makes women great investors. 

We, at Inc42, have collated some of the names that are making waves in the startup investment world. These are the names of the women that aim to build an equitable world of tomorrow and are leaving no stone unturned in their quest.

If you are a women investor or want to nominate a women investor in the startup ecosystem, nominate us at editor@inc42.com. This is a running list, and we would love to add more women who are changing the investing landscape in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list or ranking of any kind. We have placed investors in alphabetical order. 

Here Are The 46 Women Investors Spearheading The Startup Investment Game In India

1. Aarti Gupta

As a veteran investment strategist, Aarti Gupta has been at the forefront of driving the business of her family office, DM Gupta Family, Jagran Group, for the past 13 years.

Gupta also serves as the chief investment officer at Anikarth Ventures, an angel-investing firm that backs early stage startups focussed on transformative solutions.

She also holds multiple positions ranging from being a National Head for FICCI FLO Startups, which focus on women founders and investors, to her association with Jindal Stainless Steels as an independent director.

Besides, Gupta leverages her investment strategy skills to contribute to several boards of family-owned businesses and startups. Furthermore, she also champions initiatives for women’s financial literacy entrepreneurship and job readiness.

Gupta’s academic credentials include a PhD in Economics from IIT Kanpur, a post-graduate diploma in business studies from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in Economics from Northeastern University.

2. Anisha Singh

Anisha Singh is the founder of women-focused VC firm She Capital. She founded the VC firm in 2020 to stimulate more women founders to enter India’s startup ecosystem. Some of the portfolio companies of the VC firm are Samosa Singh, Spark Studio, Elev8 Sportz, and Nova Nova.

Earlier, she founded ecommerce platform MyDala and also headed B2B startup Kinis Software as its CEO. She has also worked as a manager with Centra Software.

She is mostly seen talking about women’s empowerment and supporting women-focussed businesses and startups.

3. Alia Bhatt

Bollywood superstar Alia Bhatt has also donned the hat of an investor and has quite an interesting portfolio. One of her prominent investments was in beauty ecommerce marketplace Nykaa. Her investment grew more than 10X within months to INR 54 Cr when Nykaa got listed on the Indian bourses.

Bhatt’s portfolio also includes Mumbai-based personal styling platform Style Cracker and Kanpur-based biomaterial startup Phool.

Besides investing in other startups, Alia Bhatt has also set up her startup, Ed-a-Mamma, which operates in the kidswear category.

4. Anjali Bansal

Founder and chairperson of Avaana Capital Anjali Bansal has been actively investing in Indian startups. In 2022, Avaana funded four Indian startups — BambooBox, Gold Setu, and Groyyo, according to the Inc42 funding report.

In addition to the aforementioned startups, Anjali has invested in various startups – Delhivery, Urban Company, Darwinbox, and Nykaa, to name a few.

Currently, Bansal is a member of the ONDC steering committee. She is also on the board of various Indian companies such as Tata Power, Nestle India, and Piramal Enterprises. She has also worked with TPG Growth, Spencer Stuart, McKinsey, and Dena Bank

5. Anjali Sosale

Anjali Sosale, partner at Waterbridge Ventures, plays a pivotal role in shaping the success of early stage technology companies for the VC firm. With a special focus on consumer tech, ecommerce, and marketplaces, Sosale wants to enable the next wave of rural Indian internet users

She is an active investor in startups such as BigFatPhoenix, BimaKavach, BitClass, CBREX, Downtown Club, EloElo, and Yellow Metal. 

Waterbridge Ventures specialises in early-stage technology investments, providing $250K to $3 Mn to seed to Pre-Series A stage companies.

With a portfolio comprising 31 investments and collaborating with over 70 founders, Waterbridge takes a lead role in funding rounds and remains dedicated to supporting its portfolio companies throughout their growth journey, extending investments until Series C. 

6. Ankita Vashistha

Ankita Vashistha is the founder of Saha Fund and StrongHer Ventures, which backs female-led early-stage startups operating in the fintech, health tech, consumer tech, and Web 3.0 segments.

She is currently associated with multiple names such as MySpaces, Tholons Capital, NASSCOM,  Aureos Capital, and Abraaj Group. In her more than 10 years of professional journey, she has worked with tech ventures, private equity and VCs across the UK, the US, and Asia.

She is currently an active investor in Indian Angel Network. Her startup portfolio comprises startups such as Licious, Uniphore, Fitternity, LoveLocal, Zumata, and Insta Health.

She got her master’s degree from the Cranfield School of Management, Stanford University, and is an alumna of Ramaiah Institute of Technology.   

7. Archana Jahagirdar 

Archana Jahagirdar is the founder and managing partner of Rukam Capital, an early-stage consumer-focussed VC fund. As one of the few women general partners in venture capital in India and globally, she is at the forefront of transforming the entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem. Since founding Rukam Capital in 2019, Jahagirdar has invested in over 18 startups across sectors, including Sleepy Owl, Go Desi, BECO, Pilgrim, Curefoods, Yoho, among others.

Her contributions to the startup landscape have earned her national recognition, including being nominated to the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC).

Earlier in her career, Jahagirdar headed companies like Textron, Angelworks, and Espace Corporate, and worked as a journalist with major media outlets like The Times of India and Business Standard. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. Her experience and sharp market intuition continue to shape India’s vibrant startup ecosystem.

8. Archana Priyadarshini

Archana Priyadarshini is a founder of Forward Slash Capital, which backs pre-seed to pre-Series A stage tech startups. In 2022, she invested in four startups – Broomees, CogniSaaS, Ekank Technologies, and Threado.

Over the years, she has participated in more than 25 startup deals, which include Metastable Materials, Exprto Live, and VAMA, to name a few.

At the moment, she is working as a general partner at PointOne Capital. She has also worked with companies such as Wells Fargo, Bootcamp Fitness Studio, IBM and CGEY. She has done her B.Tech in chemical engineering from IIT Kanpur

9. Bala C Deshpande

Bala C Deshpande is the founder partner of Megadelta Capital, which is an India-focussed mid-market growth fund. It typically invests $15 Mn to 25 Mn of growth equity in startups across sectors such as consumer, healthcare, and enterprise tech.

Megadelta Capital’s portfolio includes startups such as ecommerce unicorn Firstcry and health tech startup GOQII, among others.

Deshpande has nearly two decades of experience in investment advisory. She started her investing career with ICICI Venture in 2001. Later, she joined global VC firm NEA to set up their India platform where she headed the practice for ten years and helped NEA US in investing and backing startups in the mid-market space.

10. Bharati Jacob 

Bharati Jacob is the founder and managing partner of Seedfund, which invests in startups operating in diverse industries. She holds more than 24 years of experience in venture investing, marketing, and financial services.

Earlier, she worked with venture capital firm Infinity Venture Fund, investment bank Lazard, and aviation company Northwest Airlines.

An XLRI graduate, Jacob completed her MBA in marketing from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

11. Bhawna Bhatnagar 

Bhawna Bhatnagar is the cofounder of We Founder Circle (WFC), which invests in pre-seed to pre-series A-stage startups.

So far, she has invested in edtech OLL and F&B direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup Bored Beverages. Besides, she has also participated in six startup deals, including ParkMate, ParkMate, Quizy, and Commaful.

Prior to founding WFC, she worked with leading companies such as ByteDance, Cheetah Mobile and India Today.

After completing her bachelor’s in biochemistry from Delhi University in 2009, she went to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication and then earned her master’s degree in East Asian studies from Delhi University in 2014.

12. Debjani Ghosh 

Debjani Ghosh is currently the president of NASSCOM, an industry body representing the IT-BPM space. In her career of nearly three decades, she has worked with Intel Corporation and Yes Bank.

She has also been on Cisco’s India Advisory Board and served as an advisor to the FICCI S&T/Innovation Committee.

An MBA from S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Debjani completed her graduation in political science from Osmania University. 

13. Deepika Padukone 

With five startups in her portfolio, Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone has recently worn the investor’s hat. She began her entrepreneurial journey by founding 82°E in 2021.

82°E, which is led by Padukone and Jigar Shah, got $7.5 Mn funding from DSG Consumer Partners and IDEO Ventures, along with multiple ultra-HNIs and Padukone’s family office, Ka Enterprises.

Ka Enterprises mainly backs consumer and consumer-tech companies across the globe. Its portfolio companies include Epigamia, Furlenco, Blu Smart, Bellatrix, Playshifu, Atomberg, Front Row, Mokobara, Supertails, and Nua. 

14. Ghazal Alagh

Mamaearth’s cofounder Ghazal Alagh is an active angel investor. In 2022, she backed 14 startups, including Humpy Farms, unScript AI, and Wishlink. Her startup portfolio also comprises companies like BlissClub, HumpyFarm and Uvi Health.

Before founding Mamaearth, she set up a fitness platform dietexpert.in, which shuttered its operations in 2013.  She has a BCA degree from Panjab University and holds certifications in visual arts from New York Academy.

15. Harsha Kumar

Harsha Kumar is a Partner at VC firm Lightspeed India Partners Advisors. Her journey began as a software engineer and product manager at Persistent Systems in 2009, followed by a stint at the American online gaming startup Zynga in 2012. She pursued an MBA degree from INSEAD while advancing her career.

In 2014, Kumar joined Ola as the product head, contributing to its exponential growth from 3,000 rides per day to a million rides a day by the time she concluded her tenure in 2016. Her instrumental role in scaling up Ola’s product significantly contributed to its unicorn valuation.

At Lightspeed Venture, Harsha has been actively involved in various investments over the past 7 years. Notable investments include API marker Setu, digital ledger OkCredit, vernacular audiobook app PocketFM, and product manager hiring platform Upraised.

16. Ishani Chanana

Ishani Channa, partner investments at Sarcha Advisors, plays a pivotal role in managing family office investments and shaping capital allocation strategies across a diverse spectrum of assets, encompassing equity, debt, and alternative investment opportunities, with a significant focus on startups.

With investments in over 50 startups, including notable names like BluSmart, Josh Talks, STAGE, TrulyMadly, Prescinto, and The New Shop, and active participation in 20+ follow-on rounds, Ishani has been instrumental in nurturing entrepreneurial talent and fostering innovation.

In addition to her role at Sarcha Advisors, Chanana is an angel investor and has stakes in startups like JumpingMinds, BatX Energies, Yatrikart, Newmi, and Jobsgaar.

Prior to her current role, Ishani spent nearly four years at a hedge fund within Edelweiss Financial Services, where she honed her skills in buy-side research. Her work involved in-depth analysis of Indian-listed companies across diverse sectors, making valuable contributions to investment decisions within the fund.

Chanana holds a master’s degree in finance from Warwick Business School. Her investment track record includes successful exits and the ability to attract substantial investments from renowned investors to her portfolio companies, underscoring the prudence of her investment choices

17. Kanika Mayar 

Kanika Mayar is a partner of Vertex Ventures, which infuses money in seed to Series B-stage startups operating in Southeast Asia and India. Vertex’s portfolio companies include Grab, Patsnap, 17Live, Nium, FirstCry, Licious, AsianParent, Validus, and Warung Pintar, among others.

So far, Kanika has participated in four startup deals – Chatty Bao, Proactive For Her, Onato and Karkhana.io. She has also worked with leading companies such as IFC, TechnoServe, Goldman Sachs, and Ernst & Young.

A graduate of economics from the prestigious Lady Shree Ram College, Kanika completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

If you are a women investor or want to nominate a women investor in the startup ecosystem, nominate us at editor@inc42.com. This is a running list (and not a definitive one), and we would love to add more names who are changing the investing landscape in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

18. Namita Thapar

Namita Thapar is the executive director of India Business for Emcure, a pharmaceutical company. Thapar rose to fame after she joined the TV Show ‘Shark Tank India’ as one of the sharks.

So far, Thapar has participated in 11 startup deals, including Medulance, Ubreathe, Snitch, JhaJi Store, and TagZ Foods, among others.

She recently invested in ePharmacy when the startup bagged an investment of INR 2 Cr from multiple investors on Shark Tank India.

A chartered accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Namita holds an MBA degree from the Fuqua School of Business.   

19. Nandini Mansinghka

Nandini Mansinghka is the co-promoter and CEO at Mumbai Angels Network. She is also a founder investor at Digibooster, a content marketplace. Over the years, she has participated in more than 55 startup deals.

Founded in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network invests in early-stage startups in India. The network backs a slew of startups such as Adsparx, Adonmo, and BabyChakra, among others.

After her graduation (BCom) from the University of Calcutta, she completed her CFA from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India

20. Nruthya Madappa 

Nruthya Madappa assumed the role of partner at the early-stage VC firm 3one4 Capital earlier this year, where her primary responsibility is to enhance and fortify the firm’s portfolio.

Her journey at the venture capital firm began in 2020 when she joined as a principal and took charge of growth and capital development.

Demonstrating exceptional leadership and strategic acumen, she swiftly progressed to the position of director for the growth and capital vertical in the subsequent year.

21. Padmaja Ruparel

Padmaja Ruparel is one of the cofounders of the Indian Angel Network. She is also recognised as a key player in the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem.

So far, she has participated in over 16 startup deals, which include names like Phool, Nivesh, Sirona Hygiene, goStops, and Dhruva Space, among others.

Last year, Indian Angel Network launched the IAN Alpha Fund, a SEBI-registered category II venture capital fund, worth INR 1,000 Cr.

So far, Indian Angel Network has invested in over 180 startups. Some of its portfolio companies are Zypp Electric, Crest, Huddle, Elctrifuel, Indium Finance, and Sirona Hyginene, among others.

Before starting her journey in the Indian startup ecosystem, Ruparel worked as the head of corporate communications at the UK-based Xansa.

22. Paula Mariwala

Paula Mariwala has been an early-stage investor for the past 15 years, and is a founding partner of Mumbai-based Aureolis Ventures, and the founder of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India.

A Stanford alumna, Paula invests in early-stage startups and has been a key investor in Tapchief, Tread, Browntape, Thinklabs, RedBus, and Carwale, among others. In terms of sectors, she has been actively investing in segments like technology, sustainability, social impact, women empowerment, and education.

Paula is a member of the governing council of the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, IIT Delhi. She is also on the board of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Stanford University.

23. Pearl Agarwal

Pearl Agarwal is a prolific angel investor, with investments in 16 startups across sectors such as web3, fintech, edtech, gaming, and SaaS. Some of her notable investments include InFeedo, BluSmart Mobility, GroMo, Trell, and Redwing Labs.

Pearl is also the founder and MD of Delhi-based VC firm Eximius Ventures, which has its investments in startups such as Eka.Care, Jar, iTribe, Fego, Zorro, KalaGato, Oyela, Flux, Stan, Fleek, and Skydo.

Before becoming a full-time investor, Pearl worked at Merril Lynch. Pearl has also worked in the private equity sector with names like UTIMCO and Global Infrastructure Partners.

She is also the cofounder of DotReview, a platform where first-time investors can learn about startup funding.

24. Pooja Mehta

Pooja Mehta , AVP , investments and investors Relation at Gensol Group, was the chief investment officer (CIO) at JITO Angel Network (JAN), a platform which connects angel investors with startups. She has expertise in evaluating startups, managing angel investment deals, and administering investment operations and mentoring startups on growth stage.

In the last four years, she has invested in over 30 companies, including Blusmart, Batx, HomeCapital, Nexus Power, Uravu, Terra Biware, Matrix Gas Jumping Minds, Oneplay, Magenta, etc.

Currently, she is a venture capital advisor and on the board of multiple companies, including the global advisory council of Tech India Advocates. A seasoned management professional with an MBA degree in finance, Pooja’s skillset ranges from business development, market research, and management to building business strategies and financial analysis.

25. Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra, in her capacity as the COO and managing partner at CIIE.CO, assumes a pivotal role in the startup ecosystem, particularly focussing on digitisation, deeptech, climate tech, and financial inclusion.

With a dedicated commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs, she takes the lead in spearheading accelerator and incubation programmes.

These initiatives are designed to enhance skills, promote technology adoption, establish a robust online presence, drive customer engagement, and facilitate strategic partnerships.

Chopra has significantly influenced over 1,200 startups through various CIIE.CO programmes. Notable startups under her guidance include Razorpay, which turned into a unicorn in 2020.

26. Raakhe Kapoor Tandon

Raakhe Kapoor Tandon runs a family office – The Three Sisters: Institutional Office – with two of her sisters, Radha and Roshini Rana Kapoor. Raakhe, Radha and Roshini are the daughters of Rana Kapoor, the founder and MD of Yes Bank.

Under the family office, Raakhe founded ART Capital (India), an investment vehicle. The Three Sisters also has its investments in Delhi-based Awfis Space Solution, a real estate tech startup.

A Wharton alumna, Raakhe has founded two more ventures under ART Capital – ART Housing Finance (India) and Rural Agri Ventures India.

While ART Housing Finance provides long-term mortgage finance to retail customers, Rural Agri Ventures is an incubation/project development firm focussed on agritech startups. 

27. Rema Subramanian

Rema Subramanian is the co-founder and managing partner at Ankur Capital Fund, which backs early-stage startups in the agritech, fintech, health tech, and edtech segments.

She is currently working as an advisor consultant at DY Works. Earlier, she has worked with various Indian companies such as Dasra, ADTS, Element K India, Zee Interactive Learning, Ion Exchange, Datamatics and JK (Raymonds).

So far, Rema has participated in more than four startup investment deals. These names include SportVot, Josh Talks, MyCaptain, and Banyan Environmental Innovations.

A cost accountant from ICFAI, Rema has worked across education and IT/ITES, taking young companies from scratch to midsize ventures.

28. Renuka Ramnath

Renuka Ramnath is the founder and CEO of Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a Mumbai-based venture capital firm that has supported startups such as Delhivery, ACKO, Dream11, MoEngage, and LivPure, among others.

Ramnath founded Multiples in 2009 with the vision of creating a highly respected, sustainable, and successful institution focussed on alternative asset investments in India. Fifteen years later, Multiples manages nearly $3 Bn in assets and has a portfolio of 30 companies across three funds.

An alumna of Harvard Business School, Ramnath also serves on the board of the Multiples Good Faith Foundation, a scholarship programme that provides financial and skill-development support to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

With over three decades of experience in financial services, Ramnath previously served as the managing director and CEO of ICICI Venture for eight years. Between 1986 and 2001, she held various positions within the ICICI Group.

29. Ritu Verma

Ritu Verma, the cofounder of Ankur Capital, has backed several startups over the years. Some of the companies in her portfolio include names like CropIn, ERC, HealthSutra, Big Haat, Niramai, Tessol, Suma Agro, and Karma Healthcare.

In 2022, Verma took part in more than 13 startup investment deals, including D-Nome, IBISA, Vegrow, Wasabi, and Offgrid Energy Labs, among others.

At present, she is acting as a board observer in various Indian companies such as BigHaat India, String Bio, AgricxLab and Niramai. She is also on the board of Tessol, Health Sutra and CropIn.

Earlier, she worked with Truven, Philips and Unilever. She has a PhD in physics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from INSEAD.

30. Roopan Alakh

Roopan Alakh has over 15 years of experience spanning venture capital, corporate development, and technology. She currently serves as the managing director of pi Ventures, where she focuses on investing in early-stage deeptech startups across diverse sectors such as artificial intelligence, space tech, and healthcare. 

Passionate about cutting-edge technologies, Alakh has been instrumental in backing prominent startups, including Agnikul, a leading space tech venture, and Wysa, a popular AI-driven mental health platform.

Before joining pi Ventures, she began her investment career at Applied Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Applied Materials. She invested in early- to growth-stage startups in transformative fields like robotics, semiconductors, and renewable energy in that role. 

Prior to transitioning into the investment world, Alakh worked as a technologist in deeptech, giving her a solid foundation in the technical aspects of the businesses she now invests in. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in technology from NIT Jalandhar and an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. 

31. Ruchi Kalra 

Ruchi Kalra helms the financial affairs at one of the few profitable new-age tech startups in the country. The CFO of B2B building material marketplace OfBusiness also helped found the startup back in 2016 and has not looked back since then.
An alumna of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Kalra studied chemical engineering and then went on to work at Evalueserve for a couple of years. Afterwards, Kalra enrolled at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and completed her MBA.

Immediately after that, Kalra landed a job at McKinsey & Company and was entrusted with overseeing the insurance and retail banking sector. After nine years working at the consulting firm, Kalra took the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship and helped found OfBusiness.

Not stopping there, she has helped scale the business to new heights while she has also continued investing in multiple other businesses as an angel investor. She has so far invested in as many as 10 startups, as an angel, including seafood marketplace Captain Fresh, tyre marketplace TyrePlex, women-led lifestyle brand FableStreet, and B2B pharmacy marketplace Saveo, among others.

32. Salone Sehgal

Salone Sehgal is the founding general partner of Lumikai Fund, India’s pioneering early-stage interactive media VC with a $100 Mn + investment target to shape the future of interactive media in India. Sehgal holds an MBA from IESE Business School, Spain.

With over 15 years of experience in media VC, entrepreneurship, and M&A banking, Sehgal has worked across Europe and India, helping companies from seed to IPO. Before Lumikai, she was a principal at London Venture Partners, where she helped grow numerous interactive media companies.

Previously, she cofounded TrulySocial, a UK-based company creating immersive social worlds, and served as vice-president at Barclays, where she led digital strategy and business development. Sehgal also has M&A experience with Morgan Stanley.

Sehgal serves as a charter member of TIE and is on the VC committee of IAMAI. She is also part of several task groups of CII, India Digital Gaming Society, and AVGC.

33. Seema Chaturvedi

Seema Chaturvedi, the Founder and Managing Partner of Achieving Women Equity (AWE) Funds, boasts an impressive 25-year track record in capital markets and financial management. Her primary mission is to drive gender equity in entrepreneurship.

A staunch advocate for entrepreneurship with a specific focus on women’s empowerment, Chaturvedi aims to empower 30 Mn women in India by 2030 through AWE Funds.

She also chairs TiE Global’s prominent initiative, the Project All India Roadshow for Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship (AIRSWEEE), securing funding from the US Department of State for six consecutive rounds.

Earlier this year, AWE Funds announced the first close of its maiden fund in India – the Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Early Growth Fund I – at $15 Mn. While promoting gender equity and climate action as a strategy, the fund aims to invest in scalable innovations in sectors such as climate tech, agritech, health tech, edtech and fintech.

34. Shagun Tiwary

Shagun Tiwary is a senior principal at Verlinvest, a Belgium-based investment firm. She is equipped with 12 years of work experience and has invested in companies across consumer and healthcare services such as Dr Lal PathLabs, Indira IVF, Epigamia, and Veeba.

Prior to joining Verlinvest, she worked at TA Associates and Nomura in Mumbai, where she focussed on growth equity investment and capital market transactions. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

Verlinvest is largely involved in late stage venture capital funding and mid-market private equity. Typically, the firm invests between $20 Mn and $200 Mn in startups, depending on the stage they are in.

35. Shanti Mohan 

Shanti Mohan is the founder of LetsVenture, a Bengaluru-based investor network that allows angels and HNIs to invest in startups. She has also founded trica, a platform that allows people to invest in startups and private equity.

In the last few years, she participated in more than 10 startup deals, which include Minko, Simply Services, Bimaplan, and Aulerth.

With LetsVenture, Shanti has invested in startups such as Absolute Foods, Agnikul, BharatX, CityMall, Dukaan, Trell, Yulu, Blusmart, and The ePlane Company, among others. Her personal portfolio comprises Siply, Minko, and Bimaplan.

Shanti is an active angel investor and part of the SEBI advisory AIF committee. She is also active with the RBI Council on startup funding. Further, Shanti is part of the startup committees of several states in India.

36. Shrishti Sahu

The founder of Hustle Hard Ventures, Shrishti Sahu, has been actively supporting Indian startups and has so far backed 30 startups, including Plum, Kutumb, Rupifi, Chingari, 10Club, Leap Club, Eeki Foods, GrowthSchool, Accacia, Descrypt, and Gold Setu, among others.

Sahu shared that she writes off cheques between INR 3 Lakh and INR 25 Lakh for homegrown startups.

Currently, she is a managing partner and angel investor at Swadharma Source Ventures. She has also worked with multiple companies like Emoha Eldercare, Facebook, Lumis Partners, Aqaya Source Foundation, and Aqaya. She completed her graduation from the University of Warwick.

37. Shruthi Cauvery Iyer

Caha Capital founder Shruthi Iyer is an active angel investor, who is overseeing two early-stage startups’ expansion strategies. She administers Wharton Alumni Angels (South Asia) and HBS Alumni Angels.

Earlier, she worked with international companies such as Agate Medical Investment LP, PT Perintius,  International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Eastern Energy Resources. She is one of the cofounders of the ecommerce startup Blend8.

She did her MBA from the Wharton School and completed her B.Tech from Visveswaraya Technological University, Karnataka.  

38. Sowmya Suryanarayanan

Sowmya heads the impact and ESG functions at Aavishkaar Capital – an impact fund manager that invests in impact enterprises across India, South and South East Asia and East Africa. She is responsible for delivering significant impact, gender and ESG value across Aavishkaar’s various impact funds and portfolio companies.

At Aavishkaar, Sowmya has helped invest in sectors such as agritech, financial inclusion, and essential services. Some of the portfolio companies of Aavishkaar Capital include Nalanda Learning Systems, GoBolt, Milk Mantra, and Seven Ocean, among others.

39. Sunitha Viswanathan

Sunitha Viswanathan is a partner at the early stage VC firm Kae Capital. With over a decade of experience in venture investment, banking, and technology, she brings a wealth of expertise to her role.

Kae Capital, founded in 2012, has backed 81 startups, including notable names like Porter, Zetwerk, Nazara, and Tata 1mg.

Prior to joining Kae Capital, Sunitha spent over 8 years at Unitus Ventures, an early stage VC fund based in Bangalore. During her time there, she served on the boards of Cuemath, Masai School, Salesken, Awign, and Blowhorn, among others. She also gained experience working with mid-market clients at YES Bank.

Sunitha holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore and a Master’s in Finance from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.

Her investment focus spans sectors such as fintech, consumer tech, D2C, and Healthtech. Notable companies in her portfolio include Assurekit, Bold Finance, Everheal, Foxtale, Freightwalla, Nua, Supernova, Traya Health, and Wysa.

40. Surabhi Washishth

Surabhi Washishth, the founding partner of Paradigm Shift Capital, has been actively supporting the Indian startup ecosystem.

So far, she has investments in 20 startups, including Ixana, Zeda, Landeed, Praan, 10XAR, Samudai and Arcana Network. In her personal capacity, she writes cheques between $250K and $300K for startups.

At present, she is acting as a ‘Global Shaper’ with the World Economic Forum. She has also worked with multiple companies such as WeWork India, Headout, Target, AOL, and ING Life, among others. She has a B.Com degree from Christ University, Bengaluru. 

41. Swapna Gupta 

A prolific investor, Swapna Gupta is currently a partner at Avaana Capital, a climate-focused VC firm. Before joining Avaana Capital, Swapna spent more than seven years at Qualcomm Ventures, where she led India investments.

She is an investor and board observer in multiple Indian startups, including Locus, Shadowfax, Ninjacart, Zuddl, FabHotels, MoveInSync, Reverie, Stellapps, and attune, among others.

Swapna also launched Qualcomm Women Entrepreneurs India Network (Qwein), a networking, learning, and mentoring programme for deeptech, and early-stage female entrepreneurs in India.

Swapna has recently been recognised by GCV among the Top 50 emerging leaders in the corporate venture community. Surprisingly, she is the only Indian on the list. She is also part of the prestigious Global Kauffman fellows programme.

42. Swati Nangalia Mehra 

Swati Mehra’s tryst with investments began long ago. One of her first jobs was to oversee investment research in the consumer space. The job came in handy when she decided to take the plunge into the world of investing. 

In 2014, she helped cofound Sixth Sense Ventures, the country’s first domestic and consumer-focussed venture fund. Since then, the firm has invested in a host of new and emerging D2C brands that have created a niche for themselves.

Nangalia Mehra has helmed the venture fund, which has invested in a slew of emerging brands, including homegrown beer brand Bira91, men’s grooming and personal care brand Bombay Shaving Company, and gaming and entertainment platform Smaaash. She also has stakes in CarterX, Pariksha, and ProcMart. 

43. Tarana Lalwani

Tarana Lalwani is a founding partner of InnoVen Triple Blue Capital, which has backed multiple startups such as Zetwerk, Chaayos, Ather, slice, and Bounce.

As an angel investor, Lalwani bets on startups working in the consumer, consumertech, health tech, fintech, and SaaS sectors. She also holds expertise in pre-seed to Series D funding rounds via equity and debt instruments.

Presently, she is an advisor at Aureolis Ventures and a senior director at InnoVen Capital India. Earlier, she worked with companies like Anand Rathi Securities, Kae Capital, SeedFund, Edvance Learning, Webaroo, Radian Group, and Morgan Stanley.

She is also on the advisory board of Oscar Foundation and CII. Not only this, Tarana is currently part of the venture capital and private equity committee of IMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).

She holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree from La Salle University. 

44. Vani Kola 

Vani Kola is the founder and managing director of the early-stage VC firm Kalaari Capital. She has led over 30 investments at Kalaari. Some of the prominent names include Dream11, Myntra, Cure.fit, and Snapdeal.

Vani is currently on the board of CXXO. She has also worked with Certus Software and RightWorks. She likes mentoring first-time entrepreneurs and ushering them into becoming seasoned business leaders. So far, she has participated in over 63 startup deals. Some of these names include Climbes, Bombay Play, Zocket, StanPlus and Zluri, among others.

After graduating from Osmania University, she completed her master’s degree from Arizona State University.

45. Varsha Tagare

Varsha Tagare is the managing director at Qualcomm Ventures where she manages a $150 Mn fund dedicated to India and cross-border digital enterprise investments.

Prior to joining Qualcomm Ventures, Tagare served as an investment director at Intel Capital, responsible for global equity investments in mobile technology.

At Qualcomm Ventures, she has led and managed investments in Capillary Technologies, Ideaforge, MapMyIndia, among others. 

46. Vineeta Singh

Widely popular for being featured on Shark Tank India, Vineeta Singh is the CEO and cofounder of beauty and personal care brand SUGAR Cosmetics. Singh is an alumna of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Singh is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of FAB BAG, a beauty and grooming subscription startup. Since appearing on Shark Tank India, Singh has shot to fame and has invested in a slew of Indian startups featured on the show.

As an angel investor, Vineeta Singh has participated in multiple fundraisers. Some of her bets include Padcare Labs, JhaJi Store, Snitch, and Josh Talks, among others.

Note: The information has been collected from available public resources and websites.

If you are a women investor or want to nominate a women investor in the startup ecosystem, nominate us at editor@inc42.com. This is a running list (and not a definitive one), and we would love to add more names who are changing the investing landscape in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

Last updated on September 25, 2024 | The list has been updated to include one more women investor. 

The post Meet 46 Women Torchbearers Of India’s Startup Investment Space appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Getting adequate nutrition is a real problem in India and extends beyond impoverished communities, affecting all strata of Indian society. However, what’s alarming is that many wealthy urban individuals face significant nutritional deficiencies and aren’t even aware of it.

The issue lies in the fact that there is little awareness about nutrition among a majority of Indian families, especially when it comes to the specific nutritional needs of children. In addition, the country’s heavy reliance on overly processed foods and highly saturated oils, coupled with sedentary lifestyles, is only bringing shame to India on the global pulpit.

According to the United Nations’ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, India had 194.6 Mn (13.7% of the total population) undernourished people between 2021 and 2023.

Recognising this and the significant impact of undernutrition on children’s growth and their future potential, the husband-wife duo of Aditya Mukherjee and Mansi Baranwal founded Troovy in 2021 but launched their first product, tomato ketchup, in May 2023 after extensive research and several iterations and testings.

Today, Troovy claims to be the first in the race to make chemical-free, nutrition-loaded sauces, healthy milk mixes, and healthy high-protein pasta and munchies in the Indian market. Troovy offers clean, nutrition-packed products for children.

Their first offering, tomato ketchup, quickly became a favourite among parents for adding healthy and tasty elements to meals. Later, Troovy recently expanded with a nutritious milk mix, developed over 12 months of R&D.

Troovy has secured INR 10.5 Cr ($1.25 Mn) in its seed funding round, which was led by Sharrp Ventures and Earlyspring and saw participation from existing investor Veltis Capital. The round comprised INR 9 Cr in equity and INR 1.5 Cr in debt, raised from Stride Ventures.

The founders wish to use the funds for new product development and to scale operations to meet the growing demand for healthy packaged foods.

“We’ve been growing incredibly fast since our launch in May 2023. We started with our healthy sauces, which have become a hit in homes, spreading quickly through word of mouth. In fact, the brand has grown bigger in sales in a very short time. We have also launched our milk mix, which is also doing extremely well. Now, we’ve expanded our offerings to include healthy munchies and protein pasta,” Baranwal said.

Troovy’s Early Story

Way before starting their venture, Baranwal and Mukherjee were batchmates at IIM Bangalore and then colleagues at Bain & Company. Having known each other for long, the duo later decided to get married.

At the time, Baranwal was managing projects in areas of growth strategy, market entry, distribution, in-store execution, portfolio optimisation, organisational structuring, and mergers and acquisitions for FMCG majors in India. Her expertise primarily spans the food and personal care sectors within consumer products.

After serving Bain, Mukherjee founded a startup in the kids’ sector. He later served as the head of product and growth at LimeRoad and led Zomato’s venture into nutrition, gaining significant expertise in the space.

The inspiration to start Troovy came from their personal experience as parents. Just like a lot of kids out there, their son, too, was a picky eater, which made the couple deeply concerned about his health and nutrition.

As they delved deeper, they found that many children in India, even in affluent households, were not receiving adequate nutrition. To their surprise, several factors contribute to this, including soil depletion, which reduces the nutritional quality of crops, and the lack of diversity in Indian diets.

“A clear indicator of this nutritional gap is the noticeable difference in the average height of children in India compared to second-generation Indian American children, with a nearly 10 cm disparity. This gap highlights how nutrition plays a critical role in physical development. Research consistently links proper nutrition not only to height but also to cognitive development (IQ) and the prevention of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid issues, and even cancer,” Baranwal said.

After securing product approval from hundreds of parents, conducting multiple tasting sessions, completing nutritional profiling, and passing shelf-life tests, Troovy finally came to life with all the pieces of the puzzle in place.

Troovy Cashing In On Increased Consciousness For Nutrition

Troovy’s core consumer base remains children, though its primary buyers are parents, particularly mothers, who make up around 90% of the customer base. However, there’s a rising trend of young adults, about 10-15%, purchasing Troovy products.

“This trend is increasing as more young men and women become health-conscious. What sets our products apart is that they are best-in-class when it comes to cleanliness and nutrition, while also being incredibly tasty. There aren’t many options on the market that offer both,” Baranwal added.

Also, Troovy’s early adopters, referred to as ‘conscious moms,’ are no longer limited to urban areas. We were told that the company is witnessing an increasing number of buyers from Tier II and Tier III cities, highlighting broader demand for its health-focussed offerings.

The startup’s product range includes 100% chemical-free, nutrient-rich sauces and spreads. Its milk mix boasts 13 mg of iron, 23 essential vitamins and minerals, and complete plant-based protein, with the lowest sugar content in the market, sweetened with jaggery, the cofounders said.

In addition to these, Troovy has expanded its offerings to include protein pasta and protein munchies, both of which have been well received. While the company doesn’t manufacture in-house, it controls the R&D process and collaborates with manufacturing partners to bring its products to market.

What’s The Way Forward For Troovy

Given the increasing trend for conscious nutrition among Indians, especially mothers, the founders are confident that Troovy will become a leading name among brands trying to solve the country’s nutrition problem with their products.

The cofounders’ larger plan includes expanding Troovy’s product range to cover every category that children consume today, including sauces, breads, munchies, pasta, breakfast cereals, and milk mixes.

“Our promise is to deliver the tastiest healthy food families have ever enjoyed, building on the success we’ve already achieved in our current categories,” the founders said.

In the next year, Troovy plans to ramp up growth to meet the substantial demand it currently can’t fulfil. While the company sells on Amazon and via its website, onboarding quick commerce platforms will also be a key focus in the short term.

Per the founders, even though Troovy’s FY24 revenues have not been impressive, the startup has gained significant traction in the past six months. They aim to reach an annual run rate of over INR 30 Cr by the end of FY25.

All in all, Troovy is a D2C brand, which is focussed on FMCG products such as sauces, milk mixes, pasta, and munchies, among other food items. However, what’s interesting is that it projects and believes itself to be a brand that has set foot in the nutrition market for kids in India.

What’s more surprising is that it considers startups like TruVital and Little Joys, which are trying to address the clean nutrition space, as its competitors and not players like MasterChow that claim to offer no added flavours, handcrafted sauces and high-quality instant noodles and pasta.

Come that as it may, it would be interesting to see how the brand finally pivots to fully embrace the kids’ nutrition market, which was valued at approximately INR 4,000 Cr last year.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post This Startup Has A Saucy Solution For Nutrition Deficiency In Indian Kids appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With discretionary spending on the rise in India, it is Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) that major international and domestic fashion brands are chasing right now. Having grown up in the internet and social media era, this generation is incredibly trend-savvy and highly aware of global and local fashion trends.

In India, Gen Z is already shaping the fashion industry in a big way, as it accounts for 20-25% of the online lifestyle market, which has an estimated gross merchandise value of $4 Bn.

It is imperative to note that while their spending power is still catching up to older generations like millennials and Gen X, their influence on fashion trends is undeniable. Also, we will see the spending power of this generation growing significantly in the coming years.

It is on the back of this factor, among others, that a joint report by Bain & Company and Myntra projects estimates that India’s online fashion and lifestyle market will grow to $40 Bn – $45 Bn by 2028 from $16 Bn – $17 Bn in 2023. Overall, the Indian domestic lifestyle market, which includes apparel, beauty, accessories, and footwear, is set to breach the $210 Bn mark by 2028.

In anticipation, fashion ecommerce giant Myntra is placing significant emphasis on catering to this influential generation. For instance, last year, Myntra unveiled FWD, a separate fashion experience segment for Gen Z, on its platform.

At the time of launch, Myntra said it was expecting to add 10 Mn Gen Z users to its customer base in the next two years. The platform had a Gen Z customer base of 8.6 Mn in 2022. Interestingly enough, in little over one year, Myntra today has doubled its Gen Z user base to 16 Mn.

“Now, the company expects to add 25 Mn more Gen Z users to its platform over the next two years,” Sunder Balasubramanian, the chief marketing officer of Myntra, said.

However, behind the Gen Z fandom, how did the platform manage to nearly double its Gen Z user base in less than the projected time?

Speaking with Inc42, Balasubramanian said that the company achieved this growth by concentrating on three main areas — catering to trends, immersive shopping experiences, and value.

“For Gen Z, trends are like currency — whether global, macro, micro, or viral. As digital-first natives, they spend around eight hours a day online, so global trends are just as important to them as local ones. Whether it’s a trending colour like cherry red or fashion inspired by shows like Emily in Paris or Call Me Bae, curating selections based on these trends has been the key,” he said.

In addition, the executive said that the company prioritises delivering an immersive shopping experience. Moreover, the platform also seems to have found the ‘mantra’ to unlocking Gen Z’s preferences, who, unlike millennials, are more influenced by a visually rich, video-led shopping journey.

In simple terms, the generation takes Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts too seriously. “Therefore, we introduced features that mirror that experience. One such feature is Myntra Minis, which offers short-form video content for inspiration on fashion trends, brand recommendations, and styling tips,” the senior executive said.

He added that Myntra currently hosts around 50,000 videos and is planning to add 15,000 more in the coming months. With this, Balasubramanian sees the shopping experience of this fiery generation only getting richer.

The platform has also launched a shopper-led creator programme, Ultimate Glam Clan, under which Gen Z shoppers can review products through text, images, and videos. “If their reviews lead to purchases, they earn a commission,” he said.

Finally, Balasubramanian underlined that the Gen Z user base is more inclined towards value. This is because their disposable income is still low, as many are still in college or just entering the workforce.

To cater to this, the CMO said that the platform offers products at lower price points. For instance, while women’s western wear on Myntra typically costs around INR 800-900, Gen Z-focussed selections on FWD are priced closer to INR 500.

How Has FWD Shaped Myntra’s Gen Z Strategy?

According to Balasubramanian, the company has seen its Gen Z gross merchandise value (GMV) grow by more than 2x over the past year. This growth has come at a time when the country today has 60 Mn Gen Z consumers, accounting for 25% of the online lifestyle GMV.

As this number expands to 200 Mn in urban India, the growth opportunities will multiply substantially. “We’re still in the early stages of this journey, and while contribution is relatively low at the moment, we anticipate it will intensify as the market continues to evolve,” he said.

A great part of Gen Z’s focus is trends. Therefore, they are constantly searching for something new. Brands are adapting to this, launching trend-driven collections at a much greater pace.

While FWD is currently focussed on apparel, the executive said that the platform remains committed to expanding into multiple categories in the future. As of now, for Gen Zers, the only hook to FWD is trend-based clothing. However, when it comes to other categories like beauty, personal care, or home goods, they still turn to the broader Myntra platform.

How Is Myntra Place In The Gen Z Gold Rush

While Myntra is revamping its strategy to appeal to Gen Z shoppers, other ecommerce platforms, too, are not far behind in the race.

For example, Nykaa Fashion has introduced MIXT to capture the attention of Gen Z. Meanwhile, Ajio is planning to bring back Shein and has secured exclusive partnerships with other Gen Z-focussed brands.

On the other hand, smaller D2C brands like NewMe and Bonker’s Corner are also developing omnichannel approaches to engage with this generation.

Amid the current scheme of things, Myntra is partnering with a range of brands (global, D2C, local, and private labels) to solidify its armoury of offerings.

Meanwhile, the company is also focussed on technological innovation. Recognising that many Gen Z shoppers use social media for purchases, Myntra is also developing an M-Web platform for FWD, which will be capable of navigating seamless shopping experiences through social platforms.

Further, to address affordability, Myntra recently launched the FWD Pass, which allows users to pay just INR 9 and receive a monthly one-time discount of INR 50 for six months. Finally, understanding that Gen Z connects more with micro-influencers, Myntra has joined hands with over 25,000 of them.

From here on, what’s intriguing will be to witness how Myntra upgrades itself to create a brigade of Gen Z loyalists before they get baptised by its deep-pocketed rivals or other Gen Z-focussed players entering the market.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post Can Myntra Win Over Gen Z Loyalty In The Fiery Fashion Market? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gaming giant Nazara Technologies plans to raise another INR 900 Cr from SBI Mutual Fund, CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, among others, to boost its growth trajectory.

In an exchange filing, the company said that its board has approved a preferential equity issue to raise INR 900 Cr. The company will raise the funds by issuing up to 94.31 Lakh fully paid equity shares at a price of INR 954.27 per share.

“This capital infusion will fuel strategic acquisitions, fund business expansion, and enhance the company’s ability to seize new growth opportunities,” the company said in a statement.

Nazara will issue up to 23.05 Lakh equity shares to SBI Innovative Opportunities Fund, a scheme of SBI Mutual Fund. Additionally, 15.71 Lakh shares each are set to be allocated to Junomoneta Finsol and Think India Opportunities Master Fund LP. Discovery Global Opportunity Mauritius Ltd will receive 8.38 Lakh shares. Mithun Sacheti and Siddharth Sacheti will be issued 7.5 Lakh shares each.

Commenting on the proposed fundraise, Nazara CEO & Jt MD Nitish Mittersain said, “Nazara has demonstrated its ability to attract top-tier investors who believe in our long-term vision of establishing India’s first globally respected gaming powerhouse. This INR 900 Cr fundraise will be instrumental in accelerating our growth across key segments.”

Meanwhile, Nazara’s board also gave its nod for the company to acquire an additional stake of 19.35% in Absolute Sports Pvt, a subsidiary of the company which operates Sportskeeda.

“Additionally, increasing our stake to 91% in Absolute Sports (Sportskeeda) reinforces our leadership in the sports media landscape. The growth of Absolute Sports, from its early days as a startup to becoming a global media player, underscores our commitment to supporting innovative teams that consistently deliver transformational growth,” Mittersain added.

Earlier this year, Nazara’s board approved preferential allotment of equity shares to raise up to INR 250 Cr from Zerodha cofounders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath. It also raised INR 510 Cr from the Kamath brothers and SBI Mutual Fund last year.

Flush with funds, the company has been on an acquisition spree. Last week, Nazara entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology, the parent company of online poker platform Pokerbaazi, for INR 831.5 Cr through a secondary transaction.

Recently, the gaming major also acquired a 15.86% stake in gaming community platform GetStan Technologies Pte. Ltd (STAN) for INR 18.4 Cr (around $2.2 Mn).

In its annual report, Nazara reiterated that it would continue to focus on acquisitions to shore up its revenue.

Shares of the company ended today’s trading session 1.73% higher at INR 1,086.65 on the BSE.

The post Nazara To Raise Another INR 900 Cr From SBI Mutual Fund, Others; Hikes Stake In Absolute Sports To 91% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Continuing its expansion spree, foodtech major Swiggy has announced roll out of Project Next, an initiative aimed at providing career growth opportunities for its delivery partners while speeding up restaurant onboarding.

This move is part of Swiggy’s Skills programme, which focuses on skilling, training, internships, and employment opportunities across its value chain.

Under Project Next, qualified delivery partners will transition into sales executive roles, playing a key part in expanding Swiggy’s restaurant network across over 150 emerging markets.

This initiative will primarily target Tier II and III cities, where the newly promoted sales executives will manage and onboard restaurants, providing them with essential platform support.

Swiggy aims to enhance its restaurant footprint through this programme, while also offering its delivery partners an avenue for meaningful career advancement.

“Swiggy works with nearly 4 Lakh delivery partners across India. While many value the platform for flexible earning opportunities, some aspire for more. To empower this group, we launched Project Next under our Swiggy Skills initiative. This unique programme helps delivery partners transition from “blue collar” to “white collar” workers.”, said Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Swiggy Food Marketplace.

Swiggy claims that in the past five weeks, Project Next has transitioned the company’s 100 delivery partners into sales executive roles, enabling them to onboard nearly 360 restaurants.

Looking ahead, it plans to scale this initiative by transitioning hundreds of delivery partners across 150+ growing markets, including cities like Vadodara, Amritsar, Nashik, Agra, and Dharwad.

Earlier this month, Swiggy joined hands with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to launch Swiggy Skills, to offer a range of skilling and employment opportunities within its food delivery and quick commerce network.

An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Swiggy aimed towards creating employment, internship, and training opportunities for people in restaurant operations, and various aspects of retail management.

This comes at a time when Swiggy is is now reportedly gearing up to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator SEBI as early as this week.

According to the ongoing buzz, the Bengaluru-based Swiggy is likely to raise $1.04 Bn (INR 8,387 Cr) from its IPO. The diversified food biz startup is waiting to get approval from the markets regulator to proceed with the IPO filing.

Swiggy filed for an IPO via a confidential pre-filing route with the SEBI in April, aiming for a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 3,750 Cr ($450 Mn) and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component worth INR 6,664 Cr.

The post In Restaurant Footprint Push, Swiggy Rolls Out ‘Project Next’ To Help Delivery Partners On Career Growth appeared first on Inc42 Media.

B2B ecommerce platform Bizongo is bolstering the top deck of its raw material marketplace BizongoBuy and embedded supply chain finance platform BizongoFin with new chief executive officers (CEOs) .

Additionally, the company will also be roping in chief technology officer, product officer and chief financial officer to further drive its growth.

Bizongo has tapped Kiran Dev as CEO of BizongoFin, its fintech division focused on embedded supply chain financing. With over 19 years of experience, including leadership roles at Disprz and Standard Chartered Bank, Kiran will address the $300 Bn+ unmet SME credit needs by delivering flow-based financing through BizongoFin’s multi-financial institution platform, the company said in a statement.

Prahlad Krishnamurthi has been named CEO of BizongoBuy, the company’s B2B marketplace for raw materials. A seasoned leader with over two decades of experience at Cleartrip, Flipkart, Infosys and ITC Group, Prahlad will spearhead BizongoBuy’s efforts to ensure reliable, cost-effective delivery of raw materials for SMEs.

Meanwhile, Bizongo has named Gaurav Singhania as its chief financial officer at group level, bringing over 20 years of experience from American Express and LendingKart. His financial expertise will be crucial in enhancing Bizongo’s financial processes and controls as the company prepares for its IPO, the company added.

Additionally, Amol Wanjari has been appointed as Chief Technology and Product Officer. With more than two decades of experience, including leadership roles at Amazon and Acko, Amol will focus on delivering a seamless, ecommerce-like experience to Indian SMEs through Bizongo’s digital platforms.

Founded in 2015 by IIT graduates Aniket Deb, Sachin Agrawal, and Ankit Tomar, Bizongo started as a packaging solutions provider to various sectors, including fashion and lifestyle, textiles, and consumer staples. Later, the startup expanded its offerings by introducing software-based vendor management services, supply-chain automation, and financing solutions.

In November last year, Bizongo raised about $50 Mn in a Series E funding round led by Zurich-based private equity firm Schroder Adveq, with participation from International Finance Corp, Chiratae Ventures, B Capital, and British International Investment. The startup was aiming to achieve profit before tax by the end of FY24.

Bizongo’s consolidated net loss more than doubled to INR 291.6 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 106.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year, hurt by a staggering jump in certain expense heads.

The startup’s bottom line was hurt despite almost a 99% jump in operating revenue to INR 166.9 Cr during the year under review from INR 84 Cr in FY22.

The post In Growth Push, Bizongo Bolsters Its Raw Material & Supply Chain Finance Verticals With New CEOs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Universal Sportsbiz Private Limited (USPL), which operates Virat Kohli and Accel-backed youth fashion brand WROGN, seems to be struggling to scale up its sales. The startup’s operating revenue slumped 29% to INR 243.8 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 344.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Including other income, the startup’s total income declined 27% to INR 264.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 361.3 Cr in FY23.

Founded in 2014 by the brother-sister duo of Anjana Reddy and Vikram Reddy, WROGN is a D2C omnichannel men’s fashion brand which sells a wide range of casual wear, footwear and accessories. Earlier this year, Aditya Birla Group’s fashion and lifestyle venture TMRW acquired a 16% stake in Universal Sportsbiz Private Limited (USPL) for INR 125 Cr (about $15 Mn) in an all-cash deal.

In its filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the startup said it is “optimistic about the company’s business and hopeful of better performance with increased revenue in next year”.

Despite the decline in revenue, WROGN’s net loss rose 28% to INR 56.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 44.3 Cr in FY23. 

Zooming Into Expenses: Amid the decline in sales, WROGN’s total expenses fell 25% to INR 305.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 405.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Purchases Of Stock-In-Trade: Purchases of stock-in-trade continued to be the biggest expense for the startup. WROGN spent INR 126.7 Cr for purchases of stock-in-trade in FY24, an increase of 7% from INR 198.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Advertising Promotional Expenses: The startup reduced its advertising and promotional expenses marginally to INR 29.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 32.1 Cr in the previous year.

Employee Benefit Expenses: WROGN’s employee benefit expenses declined 7% to INR 32.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 34.9 Cr in FY23.

WROGN has raised around $90 Mn in funding till date and counts the likes of Accel, Flipkart, Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar among its backers. It competes with the likes of Roadster, and HRX, in the country’s crowded fashion market.

The post Virat Kohli-Backed WROGN’s FY24 Revenue Falls 29% To INR 244 Cr, Loss Up 28% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

A decade ago, Flipkart transformed India’s shopping landscape with the launch of its flagship Big Billion Day Sale, quickly followed by Amazon’s Great Indian Festival in 2015. These two sales fundamentally transformed the festive season economy, steering consumers away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores and toward the convenience of online shopping.

What began as a trend has now become a phenomenon, with ecommerce platforms offering irresistible deals and discounts. In just the first week of last year’s festive season, ecommerce platforms recorded an impressive 19% year-on-year (YoY) rise in gross merchandise value (GMV) to INR 47,000 Cr.

However, with growing competition from quick commerce platforms, what will this year’s festive season sales look like?

Once doubted for their sustainability and relevance beyond metro cities, these platforms have proven the naysayers wrong, witnessing rapid growth over the past year. Now, industry experts predict that these platforms will take a significant portion of the festive season market, cutting into the market share of traditional ecommerce platforms.

As far as Karan Taurani’s, SVP of Elara Capital, anticipation goes, a significant portion of consumption, including purchases typically made at local kirana stores, will shift to quick commerce. “This is because customers today prefer the convenience of having products delivered rather than going out to buy them, especially given traffic constraints and the time and effort involved in shopping during the festive season,” Taurani said.

It is on the back of this convenience-led shopping that he sees same-store sales (SSG) growing by around 40-50%, with an additional 20-40% growth from new store openings. Overall, as per Taurani, the industry could see a growth rate of 70-80% this quarter.

The Era Of Instant Gratification

While speaking with industry experts, we learnt that the demand for convenient, on-demand shopping solutions is at an all-time high. According to Sudeep Sen, VP of GI Group Holding, the Indian customer today seeks instant gratification, which means they expect everything to happen as quickly as possible.

Quick commerce platforms initially introduced the habit of delivering groceries within 10-20 minutes, but they have since expanded their offerings to include beauty and personal care, home decor, gifting, electronics, and toys. This diversification is expected to significantly boost their performance during the festive season.

Furthermore, the Indian quick commerce platforms also seem to be excelling at analysing customer purchasing behaviour. This has allowed these platforms to tailor their product offerings and shopping experience to meet the growing demand for convenience shopping, an industry analyst said.

The expert added that these platforms have evolved to capitalise on key moments, delivering exactly what consumers want. For example, many quick commerce platforms have reported record sales on occasions like the Cricket World Cup Final, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, and Raksha Bandhan.

New Categories & Custom Offers To Boost Festive Quick Commerce Sales

Although groceries currently account for the largest share of orders on quick commerce platforms, categories like home decor, gifting, and pooja essentials are expected to gain more traction during the upcoming festive season.

Taurani observed that each festival sees an uptick in sales of specific categories. For example, apparel does well around the Onam season, while FMCG products, especially in the gifting segment, see a boost during Diwali.

“Gifting, in particular, has become a major focus for quick commerce platforms. Products like flowers and other niche categories are also gaining traction during festive periods, contributing to the overall growth of these platforms,” he said, adding that items like sweets, chocolates, and even cold drinks see increased sales due to more social gatherings during the festive period.

Echoing the sentiment, Sen said that apart from perishable goods, like fruits, vegetables, and milk, food items with slightly longer shelf life also see high levels of engagement and shopping activity on these platforms, especially during the festive season.

During Ganesh Chaturthi, for instance, quick commerce platforms dedicated special sections for pooja items, decorations, prasad, and gifts. Many even included Ganesha idols as part of their offerings.

A day before Ganesh Chaturthi, Zepto cofounder Aadit Palicha shared that the platform delivered over 4,000 Ganesh idols. In addition, 530 modak molds were being sold per hour on Zepto, surpassing the sales of ready-made modaks.

Similarly, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto reported a significant surge in demand for festive essentials like rakhis, sweets, snacks, and gifts during Raksha Bandhan this year.

Pertinent to mention that quick commerce platforms have also expanded their offerings to include high-ticket items like electronics. Earlier this year, Blinkit even launched PlayStation 5 on its platform. However, according to the founder of a D2C wearables brand, the sale of smartphones and other expensive items is more of a marketing gimmick than a scalable business model.

Festive Surge To Boost Hiring

Meanwhile, the surge in festive orders is expected to boost the demand for labour, with workforce needs projected to increase by 25 to 30%.

Consequently, large companies are responding to this need by hiring more staff and implementing “scale-up training” programmes to enhance productivity and manage increased volumes.

According to Sen, there are two key aspects of the festive season — while many focus on delivery personnel, the crucial behind-the-scenes roles, like order processing, are often overlooked.

“These tasks require substantial staffing increases, even though these workers are not customer-facing. With the potential for refunds or refusals in every order, extra customer care executives are needed. Additional personnel are also required for mid-mile delivery and sorting products in warehouses,” Sen said.

Who Will Prevail In The Great Indian Quick Commerce Battle?

This season, many new players have entered the Indian quick commerce sector. While Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart have firmly established themselves in the quick commerce segment, a brigade of new players, including Flipkart Minutes, JioMart, and BigBasket, are looking to dethrone the existing dominance in the Indian quick commerce realm.

Notably, Flipkart has recently introduced its quick delivery service, Flipkart Minutes, and BigBasket is transitioning to a full quick delivery model. Meanwhile, Reliance Retail has also begun piloting an immediate delivery service for groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in select areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Then there are players like FroGo, which focus on providing 30 to 90-minute deliveries, creating a niche in the ecommerce market that fosters 10 to 20-minute, next-day, or 2-3 day delivery options.

However, per sectoral experts, the key competitive advantage of quick commerce platforms will rest in their ability to offer faster delivery compared to traditional ecommerce.

For now, the upcoming festive season will be a crucial test for many players to prove their viability in a world where delivery times are shrinking and the list of consumer demands is getting longer.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post Festive Season Showdown: Can Quick Commerce Dethrone Ecommerce? appeared first on Inc42 Media.